


When the Time Comes.

by NeverEnoughHandsonmyTime



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, Character Death, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Partial Nudity, Playful Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:28:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 80,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26310382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverEnoughHandsonmyTime/pseuds/NeverEnoughHandsonmyTime
Summary: Nora wakes from Cryostasis in Vault 111, picking up the Broken pieces of her life she must pull herself together and find her son.When the Time Comes, is a slow meandering (Canon-ish) walk through the plot of Vanilla Fallout 4, it will Largely focus on the Life and love of Nora and Marcy Long, but will at times divert to other characters/companions relationships as well, it will be a long story and I plan on taking my sweet time getting there. I hope you'll join me for the ride.
Relationships: Jun Long/Marcy Long (In Flashbacks), Marcy/Alice Long (In Flashbacks), Nate/Nora (In Flashbacks), Nora/Marcy Long, Sturges/Lucy Abernathy
Comments: 80
Kudos: 55





	1. Icey Oblivion

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Everyone! Like a lot of Authors here usually start with, it's been a long time since I've written any Fanfiction; I hope you will find my work and it's future chapters enjoyable. If you like what you read, please feel free to let me know. And if you have feedback, it's always welcome.

(("I want to teach you this, so when the time comes, you know what to do."))

(("Oh, Nate, you know how I feel about guns."))

Nora floated in icy oblivion.

Swept up in a current of memories, she felt an only vague sense of unease as if she'd escaped some horrible monster's teeth by the barest of inches. Try as she might, she couldn't put a name to this feeling, couldn't quite remember the danger. Only the sour taste of fear in the back of her throat let her know it had been real.

Something about Nate? And Shaun? Were they safe? Every time she tried to open her eyes and look for them, she found herself submerged in another memory.

Memories from her childhood. Playing the backyard with her father and the sounds of their laughter mingled together when he told her a joke that mom would never have approved.

Meeting Nate for the first time, and the kiss they'd shared after their first date. As soon as their lips had touched, she'd known he was the one.

Her wedding day. The happiest and most nerve-wracking day of her life. Nate had later told her it was the most natural thing he'd ever done, and he'd weathered the day with calm and poise.

Getting her law degree. That night in the park with Nate. Shawns Birth, all these beautiful memories that made up her life until...

What had happened? Nate? Shaun? Were they safe?

(("I want to teach you this, So when the time comes, You know what to do."))

(("Oh, Nate, you know how I feel about guns."))

Then came the waking nightmare, yanked from the serenity of the cold and back to reality. Had it been real? Finally, she opened her eyes and felt that cold in earnest, she was in a tomb with a glass window, put there by people she'd trusted to keep her and her family safe.

Muffled Words. A man was pointing a gun. Nate fighting as they wrenched Shaun from his arms. The gun going off.

And all she could do was weakly beat her hand against the glass of her tomb, a scream that could have been mistaken for a whimper tearing out of her throat as one of the most important people in her life was murdered in front of her and their baby, their future was ripped out of his hands.

Whimpering and beating her fist with all the strength of a toddler against the glass, she watched as the murderer pressed his face up against her tomb, his calm, clinical voice saying, "At least they still had their backup."

Then all too quickly, she was pulled back under into the freezing current of memories and dreams.

\--

"Nora, I want to teach you this so, when the time comes, you know what to do."

They were lying in bed, a tangle of sweaty limbs after a fairly intense bout of lovemaking. Nate wanted her to learn how to fire a gun, but Nora had strong reservations about guns and the damage they could do in the wrong hands.

Looking up at him from where she lay with her head on his chest, listening to his heart's journey from a rapid hammering to a gentle beat, she met his gaze.

"Oh, Nate, You know how I feel about guns. They hurt people."

This wasn't the first time he'd brought it up; a few weeks home from his final tour in the war, he'd brought the idea to her on his first night home.

"Guns are a tool, Nora, in the wrong hands, they're a danger. In the right hands, the hands of someone who knows how to respect a gun they're a tool to protect you and the people around you."

"Nate," she reached out to cup his cheek. "I don't think my hands are the right hands," she smiled, brushing her thumb across his lower lip. "My hands are for writing, for working court cases, my hands are for loving you."

Nate smiled gently, always that gentle smile for her. She couldn't remember a time he'd ever gotten angry at her for speaking her mind.

"Your hands are the right hands," he persisted. "Look, I'm not going to take you down to the firing range tomorrow, put a gun in your hand and tell you to shoot a target."

"Then what are you asking me to do, Nate?" 

"I know you, Nora, You like a challenge. You like puzzles, right?"

(("I can't breathe..."))

Nora loved puzzles. Ever since she was a child, her mind had hungrily devoured every puzzle put in front of her. Wether of the jigsaw variety, a riddle, or an unanswered math problem, every puzzle she solved pleased her mother and father to no end and left her with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

That had lent itself well to her school career.

"Nora is always looking for a challenge," Her teacher had written on her report card, "Always looking for something new to learn!"

Nate, bless him knew this; he took her fear and broke it down into a situation she could process. The very next day, he presented her with a box. Inside was his service pistol. She looked down at the Ten Millimeter pistol wondering just what the puzzle here was. If the gun had any secrets to tell her, it wasn't going to volunteer them outright.

"Watch," Nate sat down in a chair next to her; she observed him intently as he broke down the pistol until it's parts lay on the table. 

What Nora saw was no longer a dangerous tool but a collection of pieces waiting to be reassembled. Over the next two hours, Nate explained each component and its function; he showed her how to clean the weapon and then put it back together.

"Alright, Soldier, break that weapon down for me," Nate told her, using a mock-serious drill instructor voice.

Picking up the pistol, Nora found it heavy in her hands. She couldn't imagine it ever feeling as familiar in her grip as it did in Nates. She turned it around, looking at it from every angle, taking great care not to point the barrel at her face.

"Good, never point the gun at your face or at anyone else you don't intend to shoot," Nate said, "And keep your booger-flicker off the trigger until you're ready to fire."

"I don't intend on pulling any triggers, Mister, and who talks to their wife like that?" Nora said with a snort of amusement. She finished her observation of the pistol and put it down on the table. "It's a puzzle. I can do this."

(("I can't breathe..."))

So Nora attempted the puzzle, breaking the weapon down to its base parts just like she'd seen Nate do; once it lay in pieces in front of her, she allowed herself only a moment of pride before attempting to put it back together. Nate sat quietly and let her work; when she finally had the pistol reassembled, she was shocked to see the sun had gone down. Hadn't there been children playing outside a moment ago?

"How long?" she asked Nate.

"About an hour and a half," he saw her frown. "Don't beat yourself up, Nora, for the first time that's pretty damn impressive.

"I can do better," Nora disagreed.

"I know you can, and I know you will," Nate said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Now, how about we go find some dinner."

An hour and a half didn't sit well with Nora. Over the next three days, she threw herself at "The Puzzle." Every spare moment she had was spent breaking down that pistol and reassembling it. It didn't even dawn on her how determined she was until one day after getting out of the shower.

She was headed to the bedroom to get dressed with only a towel around her waist when she peered into the spare room and saw the pistol sitting there on the table; its mere presence there was a challenge she couldn't ignore.

"I can do better, and I can do it faster," she muttered.

It was there Nate found her oblivious to everything around her, breaking the gun down and putting it back together; he watched with silent pride as her fingers flew; it was clear she now possessed an intimate knowledge of the firearms inner workings. When she finished, she seemed to come out of a trance, looking around. Nora jumped when she saw him standing in the doorway.

"Welcome back," Nate smiled. "I have to say I like what I see here, You in a towel, holding a gun, it's a picture I would frame. After watching you do that, I'd say you're ready for the next step.

They both knew what the next step meant, and though she still felt reluctant, Nora found that while her fears were still real, they were diminished, and she found herself more than curious to see if she could pull the trigger.

"Fine," she said, standing up, "I'll pull the trigger tomorrow."

She could tell he liked what he saw; picking up the gun she'd been so afraid of a few days ago, she struck a pose for him, a flick of her hips sent the towel around her waist to the floor.

"Now, why don't you come over here and give me some hands-on tips about gun safety, Private?"

"I w-was a Sergeant, you know," Nate said, stepping forward with a grin on his face.

"Maybe so, but in this home, you're a Private till "I" promote you," Nora said, holding the gun in one hand and cupping her breast for him in the other.

"Yes, Maam!"

(("I CAN'T BREATHE!"))

\--

Nora came Gasping, choking, gagging back into reality.

((AIR!!))

A robotic voice rambled about a critical failure, and slowly, the door to her tomb began to open, lunging against the door. Nora spilled out into a heap on the floor, her lungs greedily sucking in all the freezing air she could handle.

"Nate! Oh, please...Nate...Nate!"

Trying to rise to her feet on legs that wouldn't respond, she clawed and pulled her way over to Nates cryopod; in a desperate bid to stand, she pulled her way up the pod on the strength of her arms alone, finally managing to steady herself though her legs threatened to buckle with the effort.

"Nate...oh God!"

Peering into the pod, she saw her nightmares brought to life, Nate slumped forward in death covered in a thin shroud of frost.

"Nate..."

Nora's legs gave out, and she fell; with a keening wail, she curled herself into a ball her body wracked with sobs, Trying to stay afloat in an emotional storm of grief that pummeled her from every side until finally feeling more exhausted than she could ever remember feeling she fell into a deep sleep.

Blissfully there were no dreams.

She awoke sometime later. With no sense of how much time had passed, just an ache that filled her body down to her very core, looking around, she remembered where she was, and suddenly the storm threatened to return.

"Shaun...Shaun...I need to find Shaun."

Her son's name was a powerful Mantra; she could not lay there on the floor and relapse into grief while her son was missing, somewhere out there! Nate would be the first to tell her this! Whatever came next, her priority was finding her son!

"Shaun"

Rising to her feet, she took a few trembling steps forward, bracing herself against Nates Cryopod for support.

"Nate," she sighed, pressing her forehead against the glass, "I love you so much. You made me a better person in so many ways that I couldn't possibly count them all."

Tears leaked from her eyes and down her cheeks, a steady trickle of grief. Steeling herself, Nora would not allow it to overcome her again.

"I WILL find Shaun, And I'll let him know what kind of man his father was. I promise"

She wanted to open the door to his Cryopod and touch his face, touch his hand, Kiss his cheek one last time, But the idea of opening that door seemed to her like digging up a grave and pulling the lid from the coffin for the sake of closure.

Nate was at rest.

Instead, she pressed a kiss to the glass of the pod.

"I love you."

Turning away, she wiped her eyes; grief would come later, she was sure, but now it was time for answers, And when Nora found the man responsible for murdering her husband and stealing her child, she wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.


	2. Ascending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world seemed to slow down, realizing she was there, the roaches screeched and moved to attack. Still, they were moving in slow motion; Nora Picked a target, fired; a few moments later, the hallway was full dead Radroaches, and the world returned to its average speed in a sudden rush that left Nora dizzy and leaning up against the wall.
> 
> "What the hell was that?" she asked herself as the dizziness began to fade, and she found herself feeling like she'd stepped off an escalator and was suddenly moving under her own speed again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there friendly reader (Yes you!) Lovely to see the hits on my first Chapter, I hope you enjoyed what you read. Not sure about how often I'm going to be able to bang these chapters out (Going to shoot for one a week) Chapter size can and will vary. Between life and work,(And the fact I'm nervous about writing this for public consumption) I'm sure there will be delays, but I have a lot of plans for this story and I'm very motivated to keep going right now. So if you like what you see friendly reader then let me know, if there's something you don't like then constructive criticism is also welcome.

Leaving Nate behind was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do.

As the door hissed shut behind her, she drew in a deep breath of warmer air, the shock of it sending her into a spasm of coughing that doubled her over momentarily.

"Shaun," she gasped when she could breathe again, the thought of her son got her moving in the right direction again. Nothing lay behind her but grief.

She was startled as she navigated the halls at the disrepair everything had fallen into; it felt like just yesterday she had been lead down sparkling clean metal walls, everything polished and new. Now everything was rusted all to hell.

"Hello?" she called out, entering another room; the only response she received was from the automated evacuation notice that looped over the vaults speaker system.

"Where is everyone?" she asked merely to hear her voice. "Am I alone down here?"

That question set off a disturbing chain reaction of thoughts. Was she alone down here? Was she buried alive under tons of rock and earth? The only way out was the lift. What if it was like the rest of this place? Rusting and broken. What if she was stuck down here?

She slumped down in a chair, practically gagging on her fear. Curling up and putting her head between her knees, she did her best to ward off the panic attack.

She thought of Nate and his gentle smile, and her heart rate began to slow. Slowly she replaced the thoughts of being buried alive with memories of a better time.

\--

"You know," Nate said as they parked outside the firing range. "David Green told me he brings Jenny here all the time, and she loves it," he said, cracking open a bottle of Nuka Cola and taking a drink; Cherry was his favorite, and since he'd returned from overseas, she swore he was putting away at least one a day.

"Yeah, well, Jenny Green also lets her husband stick it in a place where babies definitely don't come from" Nora was quick to respond; she stifled a laugh as Nate began to choke and spewed the mouthful of cola onto the steering wheel. 

"Nora for god sake..." Nate gasped when he caught his breath, his face was red, but Nora was sure it was from blushing just as much as choking, "We are wildly off-topic here," he said, trying his best to clean off the steering wheel.

"I know, you're trying to encourage me," Nora said, running the back of her hand over his cheek. It's one of the many things that I love about you," She paused. "You know I love you, right, Nate?"

"Nora, of course, I do," Nate said, looking over at her. "What brought this on?" he asked her as she looked close to tears.

"I just don't feel like I say it enough, all that time you were gone and I spent most of it wondering if I'd said it enough to you while you were here, that if god forbid something happened over there, you'd...you'd know without a doubt that I loved you."

"Nora," Nate said, taking her hand in his and kissing it, "I know you love me, and when I was over "there" it was what kept me warm at night, and if something had happened to me, god forbid, I would have died knowing that you loved me and that Marrying you was the greatest thing I ever did with my life."

"Damn right, it was," Nora smiled and sniffled. "Because I was out of your league, buddy."

"Oh come on now, me and the three drinks I had before coming over to talk to you were confident enough, weren't we?" Nate asked.

Nora laughed, Imagining Nate working up the courage to come and talk to her, she was so thankful that he had.

"Okay, enough of this, You want me to face my fears, and I want to see if I can fire a gun without causing property damage," Nora said, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

They walked inside the firing range hand in hand and were greeted by an older man behind the counter. After introductions, he presented her with some paperwork to fill out.

"So, is this a waiver I have to sign if I accidentally shoot my husband?" Nora asked him.

"We'll tell you what, if you do happen to shoot him, just slip me an extra fifty dollars, and we'll call it a divorce procedure," the old man replied "used to work as a divorce lawyer, so I'm about eighty percent sure I can make it look nice and legal," he said winking at her.

"Only fifty dollars, Pete?" Nate asked, rolling his eyes, "What a bargain."

Nora soon found herself staring down the range holding the pistol in her hands. It still felt a little heavy in her hands, but she knew enough about it now that she wasn't afraid of the weapon.

"When you're ready." Nate said softly, "That target right there, okay?"

Sighting the target, Nora took a deep breath; as she let out the breath, she squeezed the trigger. The gun issued a loud retort and bucked in her hands, but Nora kept a firm grip on it, and much to her relief, it didn't fly out of her hands, spraying bullets everywhere as she'd feared.

(Nate was right, I had complete control) she thought to herself in wonder as she looked down at the gun, the last piece of the puzzle fell into place as she looked at the weapon with newfound respect.

"I am so very proud of you," Nate said, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "And look, you even hit the target."

Nora looked at the target and the hole far left from the center, lowering the weapon, she looked up at Nate.

"I can do better," she said with determination flashing in her eyes.

"I know you can," Nate replied with a gentle smile.

\--

Nora stood up quickly, alerted by a noise that wasn't the PA system droning on in its endless loop, she couldn't place the noise, but she looked up just in time to see a flutter of....wings? In the nearby window.

Maybe she wasn't as alone as thought down here.

Looking down, she found a security baton on a crate under the window; it didn't provide the comfort a Ten Millimeter pistol would have, but if there was something with her down here, Nora would take what she could get.

Calmer now, she took the time to explore her surroundings as she searched for the exit. Nora entered a tiny staff room, and a glowing terminal caught her eye; moving over, Nora sat down, trying to glean any information she could.

She read, learning about the discontent between the staff and the overseer and how she'd slept fitfully in her pod as a mutiny took place around here. These people weren't even capable of working together, let alone looking after their charges, the thought filled her with anger, but she doubted there was going to be anyone around with whom she could "File a complaint."

Pushing away from the computer, she flicked the security Baton to its full length and left the room; walking through another sliding door, she froze when she saw it.

It was easily the most giant roach she'd ever seen, not the kind that would scuttle away under the stove when she tried to kill it. This goddamn thing was as big as a small dog!

Before she could react, it turned to face her; it froze for a moment as if sizing her up and then began to advance on her as if she was something it decided it could handle just fine.

"G-Giant roaches? What the hell?" Nora said, stepping back involuntarily, sensing victory, the creature let out an awful screech and lept for her face.

Instinct made her side step, and the roach found nothing but air. As soon as it landed, Nora kicked it as hard as she could, sending the roach crashing into a nearby locker; it lay on its back dizzy and tried to scramble to its feet. Running on pure instinct, Nora raised her boot and stomped down on it repeatedly until a sickening crunch rewarded her.

She stared down at the body watching as the legs stopped twitching, and it's insides leaked out of its shell; she uttered a half-crazed laugh.

"Bigger but still stupid as hell, good to know."

Moving forward now, she navigated the maze of rusted metal walls even more anxious to be free of the Vault, she encountered two more roaches, but she'd already written them off as a non-threat. They were predictable, lunging straight for her face, and she could easily dodge their clumsy attacks and finish them off with the baton.

She started finding bodies as well, now merely skeletons clad in what little remained of their Vault suits they'd been dead for a long time. No wonder the roaches were so giant, they'd eaten well.

Another door hissed open in front of her "Overseers Office" The plaque on the door read, it was open and spacious, nothing like the cramped quarters the rest of the staff had been forced to share.

"They must have felt like the walls were closing in," she thought to herself.

On the Overseers desk, an old friend was waiting for her, scooping up the Ten Millimeter pistol; as silly as it sounded, holding it in her hands made it feel like she had a piece of Nate with her.

Sitting down at the desk, she broke the gun down, examining every piece, looking for anything that would make the weapon a liability; when she found it in full working order, she snapped it back together with a speed that would have made Nate proud.

Her time at the range had been transformative when she'd gotten comfortable with the handgun, Nate had given her a hunting rifle, once she'd learned how to break it down, she learned how to fire it. Next had come self-defense, Holds, counters, where to punch, where to kick.

It was during one of these private training sessions in a remote corner of the park that she was confident Shaun was conceived.

Nate, her lover, her partner, her teacher, he'd never been afraid to show her something new or answer a tough question.

\--

"Nate? Can I ask you a personal question?"

She was lying spread out on the couch with her head in Nate's lap. They'd just finished up the news, and Nate had shut off the television for the night, running his fingers through her hair, he looked down at her.

"Of course, you can, Nora."

"I mean...a really personal question," she said, sitting up and turning to face him.

"Okay..." Nate held his hands up, "Look, I "Did" Drink the last Nuka Cherry, but I swear I'll pick some more up tomorrow."

"Nate, I'm serious here," Nora.

"Alright, Hon, the floor is yours, go ahead," Nate said, giving her his full attention.

Nora went to ask and then closed her mouth, trying to think of the best way to present it to Nate, he was always open and accepting of anything she asked him, but she reasoned if any question made him angry, it would be this one.

"Hon? Nora?" Nate smiled, taking her hand, "You can ask me anything, okay?"

Steeling herself, Nora looked him in the eyes.

"Over there, did you...did you ever kill anyone?"

She anticipated him letting go of her hand, jumping up from the couch, pacing back and forth, tearing into her for finally crossing the line; instead, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.  
,  
"Yes," he said simply, "I did kill people, Nora."

Her first instinct was to apologize for even asking him such a question, but when she opened her mouth to do just that, he shook his head. 

"No, don't apologize, I've been training you to shoot, I've been teaching you to defend yourself just in case you need to when the time comes, this question you just asked me was inevitable, and I'm glad you did because I'm not sure I would have had the courage to tell you myself."

Nate paused, and she could tell he was collecting himself.

"The first time? My squad was ambushed, it was kill or be killed. God, Nora, it happened so quickly, and it was over even quicker; my training kicked in, and before I even knew what I was doing, I was defending myself."

Nora listened, holding onto his hand, listening to his voice change in ways she'd never heard it sound before.

"When it was done, I did my best to keep my thoughts to myself, but our Superior knew recruits better than they knew themselves, I never forgot what he told me."

Nate looked far away as he spoke as if he was back in that place, and the words that came out of his mouth sounded like nothing Nate would ever say.

"I know what you're thinking, THOU SHALT NOT KILL, right? Lotta recruits come to war with Thou Shalt Not kill in their heads, lotta those recruits leave in a god damn body bag too! Now listen to me. You come upon a man with a gun, and this man has the intent to do harm to you or an innocent civilian; YOU DO NOT feel guilty about putting a bullet in that man because putting a bullet in that man snuffs out all the evil he was ever going to commit in his lifetime, by killing him today you give all the people he was going bring suffering to a brighter tomorrow! Now I know it's going to take some time to get Thou Shalt Not Kill out of your head, but you listen to me. You listen to me, good recruit, the ONLY time you ever need to worry about your mortal soul, and those fires of hell is if you start getting a taste for killing, and if I EVER see you starting to enjoy it, I will put a bullet in you myself! Because then, You will have become the evil man."

Nora realized she'd forgotten to breathe as Nate finished. Drawing in a deep breath, she returned to reality; Nate sat uncharacteristically silent next to her with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Nate?"

Silence, she wasn't sure if he'd even heard her.

Letting go of his hand, she stood up and planted herself in his lap, forcefully gripping his chin to look her in the eyes; she saw him blink in surprise before he could say anything, she leaned down and kissed him, deep, hard, as if she could banish every shred of hurt and regret he felt about his actions "Over there."

"Are you back with me?" she asked her voice rough after they broke the kiss.

"After a kiss like that?" Nate smiled up at her. "I am right here and at attention, ma'am."

"Good now you listen to me, Nate." gripping his shirt collar, she leaned in and spoke in his ear. "I will never judge you for what you did over there, you are MY man, and I know you did what you had to do to serve your country, you understand?"

Nate gripped her chin in his hand and kissed her, hard, firmly, and when they finally broke the kiss, they were both breathing hard.

"Message received loud and clear, Nora."

"Good," she said, pushing him back against the couch, "Though for the record, I don't mind this "Ma'am" talk either."

"I will make a note of that...Ma'am," Nate whispered in his ear.

"Now then," Nora said, leaning in and whispering in his ear. "You remember when you told me Jenny Green enjoyed her time at the firing range? Well, it turns out she was right; it was a lot of fun doing that with you, Nate."

"Good," Nate sighed in her ear as he nuzzled her neck.

"Do you recall what I said about what else Jenny Geen enjoyed doing with her husband?"

"I d-do," Nate began to stutter.

"Well, it got me thinking that if she was right about the firing range, then maybe she was right about that other thing too, want to help me find out?"

After that, words hadn't been needed. And as it turned out, Jenny Green had been right about that second thing too.

\--

Nora searched the room for anything more she could take with her; she found Ammo and three Stimpacks; tucking them away for future use, in the corner, she found a rifle locked away, with no way to get at it, Nora sat back down at the terminal to find out what she could.

What she found were the arrogant ramblings of a man that she'd never been happier she didn't get to know. Opening the overseer's door from the terminal, she absently wondered as she stood up how many people had died trying to do what she'd just done.

Entering yet another hallway, she froze when she heard the telltale screech of another Giant Roach; peering down the hallway, Nora swallowed hard as she saw three of them on the floor and two more clinging to the walls.

"This is the firing range," she told herself. "These are targets, Nate taught you what to do...now do it!"

Nora took a deep breath, raising the pistol she let the breath out slowly.

At that moment, everything changed.

The world seemed to slow down, realizing she was there, the roaches screeched and moved to attack. Still, they were moving in slow motion; Nora Picked a target, fired; a few moments later, the hallway was full dead Radroaches, and the world returned to its average speed in a sudden rush that left Nora dizzy and leaning up against the wall.

"What the hell was that?" she asked herself as the dizziness began to fade, and she found herself feeling like she'd stepped off an escalator and was suddenly moving under her own speed again.

Through what was the last door, she found herself face to face with the massive steel door that protected the Vault from the world above; one more Giant roach died, this one she was able to sneak up on and discreetly kill with her baton.

The skeletal remains of a scientist laying next to the Vault door controls had a Pipboy around his bony wrist; Nora delicately removed it and, to her surprise, found it still functional; putting on her own wrist, she poked around on the screen for a few moments before finding instructions on how to open the Vault door.

The door slowly ground open with an otherworldly screech of metal on metal. Nora found herself staring down at the elevator that had brought her and her family down to safety so long ago; it was a bitter pill to swallow that "Safety" had only been afforded to her.

Praying the elevator would still work, she stepped onto the platform, and to her immense relief, it began to rise; looking up, she saw the silo doors starting to open.

"Shaun...I'm coming baby." 

But with Giant roaches greeting her straight out of the cryopod, Nora wondered what waited for her above. Was she trading a claustrophobic form of safety for a slow ascent into hell?

She would soon find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for spending your time reading what my brain cooked up! I hope I was able to monopolize a few minutes of your day (In a good way, of course!). See you next chapter, friendly reader.


	3. Making friends in Concord.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fresh from the Vault Nora reunites with Codsworth. Taking his advice she heads to Concord to find some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI there Friendly Reader! Here's Chapter 3! You may notice some conversations and situations play out differently in this story than they do in-game, I don't really intend to "Jump the shark" at any given point, but I do have plans in the future that will make things play out a little differently. But hey isn't that why we write fanfics in the first place? Anyway, I'm very happy to see the hits this story is picking up and I hope I'm able to entertain you for the time it takes you to read this. As always if you like or dislike something about this story don't be shy, constructive criticism is always welcome!

(Not Hell) 

Nora thought numbly to herself as she gazed out over Nuke Blasted Landscape, her eyes filled with tears as she looked down upon her beloved home of Sanctuary Hills.

"Not Hell, More like purgatory..." she said, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

Below her homes that had once been full of happy families and laughing children; now lay empty, rotting, skeletal remains, some of them barely even standing, their once vibrant paint jobs reduced to the dullest shades of color.

Turning away, she made her way down the hill to the remains of her shattered life to see what pieces remained.

As she walked, she had to take care not to trip over bodies; their bones picked just as clean as the ones down in the vault, there was a higher concentration of them by the gate. She remembered the soldier in a hulking suit of Power Armor standing sentry at the gate, threatening to shoot anyone who wasn't on the clearance list.

Nora was ashamed at quickly she'd forgotten about all of them once she and her family were on the safety of the platform being lowered into the vault.

Walking into Sanctuary and seeing everything from ground level wasn't an improvement. Looking around, a heavy blanket of despair settled in around her, unwilling to go and see her destroyed home just yet she turned in the other direction and wandered down the street, taking in the ruins.

Wandering down to the bridge that would take her out to the main road, she was surprised to see it mostly still standing; turning around to head back up the road, she was startled by two screeches as two Giant Roaches came at her from either side of the street.

Her gun roared twice, and just like that, there were two fewer Roaches to deal with; even in her numb state, Nora found no trouble in dealing with them.

Back up the street past the Norris family's home, one five-year-old son and a baby sister due within the month, Billy Norris had been so excited to be a big brother.

Then there was Candice and Dora's home; The two made no Secret when they moved in that they preferred each others company; it was a small scandal among the more rigid wives of Sanctuary Hills until they realized that being a "Lesbian" wasn't a disease you could catch and that Candice and Dora were perfectly reasonable women.

"Oh, Honey, we're not afraid of a little ignorance," Candice had told Nora when "As long as I've got her and she's got me, that's all we need."

The last time Nora had seen them, they were embracing in the middle of the sidewalk right before the bombs dropped; at least they probably died in each other's arms.

Another broken-down house, another dead family, more memories that would only live on through her. Nora walked the cul-de-sac so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't realize she was standing in front of her home.

"I'm alone..." a sob hitched in her chest as the realization hit hard. Everyone she'd loved was dead, hell everyone she'd hated was dead; she was just about to spiral over into complete despair when a miracle happened.

Codsworth came floating out the front door.

She and Nate had purchased the Mr. Handy unit six months before Shaun was born, they were both a little hesitant at first, but in no time at all, Codsworth had become a loving part of the family.

Cooking, cleaning, and taking care of her and Nate when she was at her worst during the pregnancy, he'd read to her, telling her horrible jokes that made her laugh when her emotions were swinging. After Shaun was born, he looked after him with such tender care that Nate and Nora Jokingly called him "Uncle Codsworth."

He froze in the doorway as he saw her, and she froze mid-step. After a long moment of silence, she stepped forward and reached out to him.

"C-Codsworth Honey? Is that you?"

"Mum? Miss Nora!" Codsworth proclaimed, as he came forward, Nora's hand brushed across the dented and weatherworn metal, and then she threw her arms around him and hugged him as tightly as one could hug a Mr. Handy unit.

"Oh, Miss Nora...it's really you!" Codsworth said, gently sliding one of his arms around her. Nora embraced him as tears leaked from her eyes and down his battered frame. She wasn't alone, after all!

Codsworth said nothing during the embrace, but she saw him looking over her shoulder when she pulled back.

"Mum? I can't help but notice that Sir and young Shaun are absent, are they...with you?" he asked, looking around.

"Oh Codsworth, Honey, they're gone, Nate, he's...d-dead," she said her voice trembling with emotion for a moment, "And Shaun he, some came into the Vault while I was trapped and they TOOK him, They shot Nate, and they TOOK my baby boy!"

"Miss Nora..." Codsworth sighed; she could hear the remorse in his voice. "Come, let's get you inside. I believe there is a chair that is still serviceable."

\--

Once she was sitting, Codsworth brought her a can of Purified Water; Nora hadn't realized how thirsty she'd been until she took the first sip; before she knew it, the can was empty, and her stomach was threatening to bring it back up.

"Slowly, Miss Nora," Codsworth said as he floated back to her with a box of cereal. "You're about two hundred years late for dinner, you need to eat and drink slowly, or your body will surely reject it."

Nora looked up from tearing into the box of cereal and nearly dropped it on the floor.

"D-Did you say two hundred years?" she asked. "That's impossible, I feel... I feel fine; it feels like everything just happened yesterday."

"A little over two hundred and ten actually, give or take." Codsworth was surprisingly gentle with her as she tried to process this new information.

"Two hundred and ten years, and you've been here this entire time?"

"Eat Miss Nora, but eat slowly," Codsworth said, gently pushing the box against her chest.

As Nora ate the first meal she'd had in apparently two hundred years, Codsworth filled her in. After the bombs fell, most of her neighbors died, though a band of survivors had left Sanctuary hearing about a rumor of another vault that may have allowed them entry.

After that, not many people had cause to come to Sanctuary Hills.

"Some came to loot what they could; I left them to their business as long as they kept their distance from this house, it wasn't in my programming to protect the neighborhood, not that I approved of their filching, wretched vultures," Codsworth grumped "Still they managed to get in here when I left to try and find resources, or when I made the trek up the hill to watch for any signs of life."

"Oh, Codsworth." Nora said, reaching out to put her hand on him, "Honey, you protected this house to the best of your ability, and I can't tell you how much that means, because of you, I have a home to come back to" she smiled.

The thought of Codsworth trying to keep the home clean while only taking breaks to go up the hill to check the vault for signs of his family broke her heart.

"Codsworth, you said your programming only let you protect this house, did that mean you felt like you HAD to stay here all these years?"

"I was registered to you and Sir," Codsworth said. "My protocols dictated that I remain here and manage the home to the best of my abilities; there were loopholes I could take advantage of, Such as going up the hill, or going into Concord to look for supplies in case you all returned, but the trips were lonely, and no one had any desire to speak with a Mister Handy Unit."

"There must be something we can do about those protocols," she said to Codsworth. "I want you to feel free to move around where you want to go, and when you want to go, I don't want you chained here by an invisible leash."

"Miss Nora, it has been my absolute pleasure to serve you and your family, I've never felt chained here, though the ability to move about of my own free will would give me the freedom to serve you better, if you'd like I can show you how to grant me those freedoms with that Pip-Boy you have there."

Nora had almost forgotten about the Pip-Boy, taking it off the dead scientist and putting it on her wrist; she'd used it to open the door and hadn't thought about it since, With Codsworths help, she plugged the Pip-Boy into an access port on his back, and a list of commands came up.

It wasn't a complicated process, and by the time the sun had set, Nora had Given Codsworth the freedom to go anywhere in the Commonwealth he desired and the freedom to do as he wished. To the best of her abilities, he was no longer a slave to his programming.

"Now mum, I know you're anxious to begin your search for young Shaun, but you look exhausted, and I think tonight would be better spent sleeping, don't you?"

As badly as she wanted to start her search Nora was forced to agree with him; she stood up suddenly feeling exhausted; Codsworth led her to her bedroom where a cot had been set up, the bed she'd shared with Nate looked to have been hacked to pieces, probably by someone desperate for wood to burn.

Nora laid down and looked up at Codsworth as he came into the room with a small blanket that looked like it had seen better days, covering her up with great care, he headed for the doorway.

"Mum, I'm going to step out for a few minutes, put my newfound freedoms to the test, I think I will search the neighborhood for provisions to make your journey easier tomorrow, sleep well, and have no fear I shan't be far."

"Codsworth?" Nora called out to him as he drifted out the door.

"Yes, Mum?" Codsworth asked, turning around to look at her.

"I'm glad you're here," she said as her eyes grew Heavy. She was asleep before she could hear his response.

"And I'm glad you're here Miss Nora, more than you'll ever know."

\--

Nora slept through the night and woke feeling well-rested; stretching her arms over her head, she cocked her head to the side and listened to Codsworth moving around in the kitchen; it was a ritual she'd conducted so many times before that she almost reached over to wake Nate.

But that wasn't her reality anymore, was it? Steeling herself, Nora got up and stretched more thoroughly, the Vault suit clung to her body and moved with her. Despite the meager blanket Codsworth had found for her, the Vault suit seemed to use her own body heat to keep her warm.

Moving out into the hallway, she peered into Shaun's room, God how had the crib not been destroyed? It lay there almost precisely where they'd left it, the paint had peeled, and it had seen better days; the only thing missing was her baby boy.

Nora clamped down on the Whirlwind of emotion that threatened to sweep her away; giving in to it right now wouldn't help; she would cry later.

"Miss Nora!" Codsworths jovial voice issued from down the hallway, "I trust you slept well? I have breakfast ready shortly; your breathing patterns changed ten minutes ago, so I assumed you would be waking; I took the liberty of heating some water for you if you wish to bathe."

Nora smiled at Codsworth and nodded her head, not feeling up to speaking just yet, she headed for the bathroom; there was a pile of cloth and a bucket of hot water ready for her; unzipping her Vault suit, she stepped out of it and went about washing herself.

"Not bad for a 200-year-old woman," she said to herself, running her hands over her body, she scrubbed herself down, and while Nora would have killed for some soap or shampoo, she was grateful to at least feel some semblance of clean before she put her Vault suit back on.

Going out to the kitchen, her stomach rumbled as she smelled breakfast cooking.

"Salsbury Steak? Codsworth where did you find that?" she looked at the table littered with a modest amount of supplies. "And all of this?" she asked.

"Mister Hanson built himself a slapdash underground shelter, though "he" never got to use it, I have been taking advantage of it over the years, I've stored a substantial amount of food there for a time when our family was to be reunited" he paused "That is if you are comfortable with that analogy?" he asked her with hope in his voice.

"Codsworth, we considered you family even before the bombs fell," she said as she sat down to eat. "Don't ever doubt that you are family."

"I never shall again, mum!" Codsworth said happily as he set a plate down in front of her, Nora's mouth watered as she cut into the steak and began to eat.

As she savored the meat, she glanced at the countertop; a Backpack was laid out on top with several boxes of ten-millimeter ammo for her pistol, a pair of brass knuckles, several cans of purified water, some sunglasses, and what appeared to be a piece of leather chest armor.

"Thanks to my expanded programming, I can anticipate your needs in even more ways," Codsworth told her as he followed her gaze. "The world is not as kind a place as it was before the bombs fell. This meager offering, I hope, will aid you in your search for young Shaun." 

"It's more than I had yesterday, Codsworth, I'm grateful" Nora stood up and began to pack the backpack. "I need a direction," she sighed. "I have no idea where I should even begin searching," she strapped the leather armor on over her Vault suit.

"Might I suggest Concord, Mum?" Codsworth offered, "I have seen people down there before, they weren't of the friendliest sort, but it could have just been an aversion to robots that made them throws stones."

"That sounds like a good place to start," Nora smiled. "Thank you for all your help, Codsworth, and Don't worry; I promise no matter what I find in Concord today, I will come back home, ok?"

Codsworth followed her as she made her way outside, it was a beautiful sunny day in the Commonwealth, and it lifted her spirits to see it; putting her sunglasses on, she turned to look at the Mister Handy Unit.

"Take care, Mum, I heard gunfire coming from Concord last night," Codsworth warned her. "Trouble is afoot down there, I am certain."

\--

"Trouble is afoot," Nora said to herself as she crossed the bridge from Sanctuary to the main road; she wondered just what kind of flavors of trouble the Wasteland would serve up for her this morning.

She traveled at a brisk pace until the Red Rocket Garage came into view; despite the time that had passed, it was still standing; seeing it there brought back memories, of course, she and Nate stopping to fuel up their car before heading off to whatever adventures the day held for them, or stopping on their way back home to grab a Nuka-Cola on a hot summers day, she paused by one of the pumps and let those memories wash over her.

Suddenly the ground under her began to shake. "What the hell?" Nora asked, stepping away as the ground n front of her burst open.

"Oh, what fresh hell is this?" she muttered as a giant angry creature emerged from the ground, halfway between a mole and a rat, she guessed, the front teeth were almost comically huge, but there was nothing funny about it growling and trying to bury those teeth in her leg.

Nora stepped back and tripped, falling to the ground with a grunt of pain, suddenly much closer to the Molerat than she'd ever intended to be; the beast screamed and lunged for her face, but just as Nora could smell its fetid breath, she heard an angry rumbling growl and a furry shape tackled the mole rat to the ground and buried its teeth into the neck of the thing, picking it up it shook it back and forth viciously until she heard the snap of the mole-rats spine.

It was a dog, a perfectly normal-looking German Shepard. If Nora had ever seen one before, the animal turned towards her, and suddenly its tail began to wag, picking the mole-rat up in its teeth, it practically pranced over to her and deposited the limp carcass at her feet.

"Good boy!" Nora said, tentatively reaching out a hand for the dog to sniff, but the dog was beyond such formalities; leaning in, he nuzzled her cheek and sniffed her all over.

"Well ok then, personal boundaries are no issue with you, I'll make a note of it," Nora said, getting to her knees, she put her arms around the dog and hugged him, "You saved my bacon," she told him as she ran her hands over his soft coat looking for any scratches or damage when Nora was satisfied he wasn't hurt she got to her feet.

"Now what are we going to do with you, hmm?" she asked the dog, "You want to come with me? See what there is to see?"

As if understanding her entirely, the dog barked and danced in a circle.

"Well, that seems like a yes, let's go, boy!" Nora smiled as the dog fell in with her, and as they passed by the mole-rat, Nora couldn't but snicker as he lifted his leg and peed on the corpse.

\--

Concord had seen better days; the roads were pockmarked with craters, and buildings that hadn't been destroyed were boarded up and abandoned; before Nora could drift away on a memory of the way things used to be, she was startled by the sounds of gunfire and shouting coming from the town center.

Peering around the corner of a blasted out building, Nora got her first introduction to the Wasteland people.

At the end of the street, she saw a group of men dressed in ragtag pieces of leather armor, around with small pistols and makeshift melee weapons. They seemed to have a group of people pinned down on the Museum of Freedom's top floor. 

Two men hung back closer to her, guarding the rear while the others fire shots up towards the balcony, taunting a man who looks like the Minuteman statue outside of Sanctuary Hills brought to life.

"Send out the old woman Garvey!" a man yells up at the balcony, "And we'll make your deaths quick! I promise!" Nora takes this man to be the party leader, his voice dripping with the slimy kind of bravado that only a man who is unused to hearing the word "no" can sound like.

"Yeah!" a man steps in front of Mister Bravado. "And send out the younger woman too! And we might even let you walk!" Mister Bravado looks annoyed at this sudden interruption, but his cronies rather like the idea, laughing and howling like a pack of starved hyenas.

The answer to those demands is sizzling electric death; Nora watched as the Minuteman raise a rifle of some sort and pull the trigger, the man's head explodes in front of Mister Bravado, coating his face in hot blood and chunks of things that could only have been his subordinates little-used brain matter.

"GOD DAMN IT GARVEY!" Mister Bravado yells, "My men are already in there! and once they break through that door, I PROMISE you, you're going to die slow and screaming!"

Nora is terrified as gunfire was renewed on the museum; the Minuteman was a hell of a shot, but he's the only one returning fire on the men outside, and if there are more in the building already, he doesn't have much time, Nora knows she's the only one who can help.

She looks at the dog and finds he's already gazing at her; there's a gentle look in his eyes; God help her the same kind of gentleness Nate used to look at her with, that look that tells her, "I know you can do this" The Dog puts a paw on her arm and whines softly.

Nora bows her head and removes the pistol from its holster.

"You do not need to feel guilty about putting a bullet in the evil man..." she repeats the words said so long ago, "Because putting a bullet in that man snuffs out all the evil he was ever going to commit in his lifetime."

Getting to her feet, Nora allows the words to energize her to empower her.

"By killing him today, you bring all those people he was going to bring suffering to a brighter tomorrow!"

Nora rounds the corner, the two men closest to her are the targets; she attempts to move quietly, wanting to get closer before she fires, but her foot kicks a hunk of brick, alerting them to her presence; Nora freezes in place as they stand up and give her their full attention.

While trying to take her first quiet steps into the Wasteland, Nora had done so with all the grace of a rambunctious toddler.

"Well, look at what we have here," the bigger of the two men said, looking her up and down, "We've got a pretty little toy from a Vault!" he leers as he begins to advance on her.

"I swear I don't know how they squeezed women into the vault suits beck in the day, but god damn, I love how it just clings to a woman's body, and you know what I love even more? I love how soft a Vault bitch's skin is, pure, no cuts, no scrapes, no bruises."

He raises a knife as he walks towards her; Nora realizes he's trying to intimidate her to get close enough to use it; this one thinks he's a talker.

"So here's what I'm going to do," he said, licking his lips, "I'm going to peel you out of that vault suit, and I'm going to put some marks on that perfect little body of yours, it's just my way of saying welcome to the Waste....."

Calmly raising her gun, Nora squeezes the trigger, putting two bullets right where she knows his heart is, sending her would-be rapist to the ground; she watched as he spasmed once and then lay still.

((It happened so quickly)) she heard Nates voice echo in her head ((and it was over even quicker, my training kicked in, and before I even knew what I was doing, I was defending myself.))

"What the fuck did you do?" The other raider howled, reaching for his gun. 

Before he could pull the trigger, the dog was on him; Nora heard the crunch of bone, and the gun fell to the ground as sharp teeth bit into his wrist, dragging the raider to the ground. Before he could begin to howl in pain, the dog was at his throat, ending his misery in such a cold, efficient way that Nora was stunned.

"G-Good boy," she said, looking at the dog in a new light, killing a mole-rat was one thing, but the way he'd taken down a human being made her wonder just where he was from and what kind of training he'd undergone.

With no time to consider the thought any more deeply, she moved forward towards the group of men closer to the museum; Mister Bravado didn't notice her as she took cover behind a car and lined up a shot; she squeezed the trigger twice, and he fell to the ground, any reservations she had shooting him in the back had died with her would-be rapist's speech.

Now being fired on from two directions, the raiders suddenly realized their plight, Nora finished another one with well-placed shots, and the Minuteman killed the last two from up on high with his strange laser rifle.

Once it was over, Nora holstered her pistol and the reality of what she'd done washed over her; her hand began to shake as she realized just how badly things could have gone, closing her eyes, she whispered Shaun's name until she felt she could open her eyes again.

Nora would walk over as many bodies as she had to to get her son back.

"Hey! Are you ok?" the Minuteman from above called down to her.

"Y-Yeah, I'll be fine," Nora called up to him.

"I know you need a minute to breathe but, I've got people trapped up here! Please grab that Laser Musket and lend us a hand!" The Minuteman beseeched her.

Nora looked down at the stairwell where a dead Minuteman lay, reaching down she picked it up looking at it curiously; there was a crank on the side of it, turning it tentatively, the weapon began to hum with power and glow red.

"Look, there's not much time, but grab the ammo there and some of the armor the raiders are wearing, it'll protect you more than that Vault Suit will."

Grabbing ammo, she stuffed it into her pocket, taking the briefest of moments to gather armor from the fallen raiders she strapped it to her arms and legs.

She was about to say something to the Minuteman above, but he'd been drawn away by loud shouting; she heard what sounded like an explosion and several cries of fear.

Before she realized what she was doing, she ran up the stairs and into the museum of freedom.

\--

Nora fought her way up to the first floor; the first few raiders didn't even notice her; giving her time to get used to the laser musket, lining it up and firing, she disposed of another raider with a red pulse of electric death.

"Holy shit..." she said, looking down at the weapon in her hands; how the world had gone to hell and something like this still existed was something she was going to have to ask the Minuteman; she lined up another shot at an oblivious raider and pulled the trigger.

"Click"

Nora looked down in confusion only to remember that she needed to turn the crank, turning it quickly, the weapon began to hum, the raider turned as if sensing her behind him. She shot him mid-turn in the throat, already moving as his stiff body toppled to the ground.

The sounds of combat came from above, but the raiders started to become aware of her presence when they noticed the absence of their friend's gunfire.

Ducking into a doorway, Nora heard voices speaking in low, hushed tones.

"Look, man," a younger sounding voice pleaded. "There's someone else out there shooting us up; I can't patch you all up if you're dead! Let's get the hell out of here! There's no point in waiting around to get shot!"

"Shut up!" A gruffer sounding voice responded, "If you get killed, it's your fault for not carrying a fucking gun! We're here for the old woman, and we're not leaving without her!"

While they argued, Nora crept up closer, lining up her shot; the younger raider looked to be utterly unarmed, so she focused on the older one who was brandishing a shotgun and waving it around wildly as he berated the younger man.

Standing from behind cover, Nora shot the raider as pointed an accusing finger at the younger man.

The younger raider turned to her, immediately raising his hands over her head in a surrender gesture. "Please don't shoot! I'm unarmed!"

Did she let him live? She'd seen nothing so far to indicate that any of these men had a shred of honor.

"If I let you live, you're just going to put a knife in my back," she said, turning the musket's crank.

"NO! I promise you, I cook for them, I stitch them up when they get hurt, I won't touch a gun!" he pleaded.

Nora grit her teeth; holding a person's life in her hands was never something she'd never expected she'd have to do. "Alright, get out of here, kid...if I see you again, you're dead, do you understand?"

"Yes! Yes! Thank you!" the young man practically ran down the hall to get away from her; Nora breathed out a shaky breath; if he'd known how hard she'd been trying to keep from shaking, would he have been so fearful?

((Who is this woman?)) Nora thought to herself as she climbed the stairs to the third level. When she'd left Sanctuary that morning, she hadn't even been sure she could pull the trigger on a human being; now, she was fighting her way up a crumbling museum to rescue a handful of survivors the hopes that they could help her find her son.

((This woman)) she decided was born out of necessity, Nora would have to see how she felt about it later.

She heard the screaming raider as she made it to the third floor; he was ranting and raving about the things he was going to do once he got that door opened; Nora rounded the corner into the hallway and raised her Laser Musket, she noted with how quickly his words dried up and died right before she shot him in the chest, but before she could crank the musket again to reload a second raider was on her.

Again out of nowhere was the dog; he'd been shadowing her, shoulder tackling the man just as he was about to reach her, knocking the raider off the ledge; Nora felt sick to her stomach as he screamed all the way down to the bottom and lay still.

"In here! Hurry!" The Minuteman called out to her; Nora paused only to make the dog was ok and then, slinging the musket around her shoulder, she strode through the doorway with as much confidence as she could muster, hoping to find answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to take a quick moment to thank my wife for being my proofreader. And another moment to thank you for taking the time to check out my story Friendly Reader! Stay tuned for chapter 4!


	4. Finding help in Concord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Chapter 4! Where the hell have you been huh?

The Minuteman from the balcony greeted her with a firm handshake as she entered the room.

"I don't know who you are, but your timing is impeccable." he said, "Preston Garvey commonwealth Minutemen."

"Nora," she said, taking his hand; she could see the burden of leadership was heavy on his shoulders, there was a weariness around his eyes that spoke of missed meals and sleep that was starting to add up.

Preston motioned for her to follow him out to the balcony where they could talk in private; once they were out of sight of the others, she saw his shoulders slump.

"I"m in your debt," he told her, "and while I promise I'll do everything in my power to repay that debt, I'm afraid I....we are going to ask you for more help."

Nora looked down from the balcony at the destruction she'd caused; she struggled to come to grips that she'd left a trail of bodies behind her to get to Preston. She'd felt as though her mind had been along for the ride while she'd killed those raiders on pure instinct.

(Am I a murderer?) she asked herself. (I didn't enjoy it, but it happened so easily.)

"Tell me what you need, I'll help if I can," Nora heard herself say despite the doubts piling up in the back of her mind.

"More raiders are coming up from Corvega," Preston told her. "This was only half the battle, and now we're going to have to deal with Gristle and the rest of his men. See, he thinks he has us cornered and exhausted."

Preston turned a grateful smile to her, "But he wasn't counting on you."

"I surprised them, Preston," Nora said, anxious to downplay her accomplishments, "They weren't expecting an attack from behind, and I got the drop on them."

"Yeah, you sure did," Preston smiled. "And you bought us some time, but not much. The thing is, we have one more surprise up our sleeves, but it's going to require your help."

Nora could hear the enthusiasm in the man's voice as he told her the plan, the fact it hinged on her raised all kinds of anxiety, but she did her best to keep it off her face.

"There's a set of power armor up on the roof, pre-war," Preston said. "And a crashed vertibird with a Minigun still attached. If you get into the power armor, you can rip that minigun free and use it on the raiders!"

Nora could think of a thousand different reasons that trusting her to hold off a small army in a set of pre-war power armor was a shitty idea; she opened her mouth to tell him just one of those reasons when she was interrupted by shouts from below. The raiders had arrived and discovered the bodies of their fallen comrades.

We're in this together now, Nora realized I made this my fight when I took the first shot.

"Sturges has the fuel cell that powers the armor," Preston said, Nora could hear him trying to keep the desperation out of his voice as he spoke.

"Ok," Nora swallowed. "Let's do this, Preston."

They hurried back inside, and Nora took the Fuson Core from Sturges. The man placed it gently in her hands like it was the sum of all their hopes and dreams and squeezed them.

"Thank you, and good luck," he told her.

Nora took in the other three people in the room as she made her way to the door; the old woman that the raiders seemed so excited about was sitting on the couch with an aura of calm about her, the dog was sitting by her side and looked up at her thumping his tail on the floor, as Nora walked by the old woman took her hand in a surprisingly firm grip.

"You've already done so much for us." her voice sounded to Nora like an old gypsy woman who would read your fortune at the fair. "And yet, we have to ask you to do more for us before we find Sanctuary."

"Did you say Sanctuary?" Nora asked; there was no way that could have been a coincidence.

"A place we can call home, a place I believe you already do call home." the old woman said so matter of factly that Nora was too surprised to call her crazy.

"I know you have questions," the old woman continued, "But there'll be time for talk later, once the fighting's done."

"You sound more confident than I feel," Nora said, looking down at the woman curiously.

"We will talk again, IN Sanctuary," the woman smiled up at her. "I've seen it."

"Seen it?" Nora asked; she stepped back, but the woman kept her grip on her hand tight.

"Before you go, you need to know, something is coming, it's big, and its "Angry," she said, emphasizing the last word.

"I'll uh, I'll be on the lookout for anything like that," Nora said, squeezing the woman's hand before pulling away.

The old woman released her hand, and Nora headed for the door; she passed by a man seated on the ground with his head in his hands, he looked shattered, broken beyond all repair, muttering softly to himself, Nora couldn't help herself, kneeling she put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's going to be ok," she told him with confidence in her voice that didn't match how she felt inside.

If the man heard her, he gave no sign, the woman behind her snorted as she stood up.

"We need help!" the woman's voice was full of a bitter kind of anger, "And we get this Vault Tech pin-up girl! What's she going to do? show them her tits?" she said, not caring who heard her.

Nora turned to face the woman, like Preston, she was exhausted and at her wit's end, recognizing she was speaking out of fear, Nora reached out and put her hand on the woman's shoulder.

"I'm going to do everything in my power to help you, ok?" she watched as the woman met her gaze; for a moment, she saw the anger disappear, and the woman's eyes became a window into something far more vulnerable, she opened her mouth to speak but then thought better of it, Yanking her shoulder away from Nora's touch she resumed her angry pacing.

Unable to offer comfort to anyone else, Nora sighed and headed up to the roof; she guessed words were a poor currency right now when actions were required.

\--

Nora remembered Nate telling her about the simplicity of Power Armor; in fact, she could remember three separate incidents alone about civilians getting their hands on Power Armor and taking it for a joyride; the property damage had been through the roof.

Nate had told her about his experience in training with Power Armor, Telling her how he'd jumped off the roof of a building, his eyes had shown with childlike glee as he told her how quickly his fear had turned to joy.

I would have done it all day if they'd let me. He'd told her.

The armor had seen better days, but Nora didn't have time to be picky; slamming the fusion core in, she climbed into the armor and felt it close around her; she felt only a moment of claustrophobia before the armor came to life.

Nora turned stunned at how easily she could move around; stepping forward was like walking in mud up to her ankles, but the feeling of power surrounding her was incredible; she felt like a walking tank!

Making a fist, she punched the wall in front of her, smiling in satisfaction as the wall shuddered in response; pulling her hand out of the impressive hole in the wall, she flexed her arms and turned to grab the minigun.

The raiders were never going to know what hit them.

"Boss! Boss up here! Somethings moving!"

Minigun firmly in hand, Nora glanced down over the edge of the building and swallowed hard, was she really about to do this? 

"Why don't you come down here and show me that shiny toy up close?" a voice taunted from below.

"Not going to get a better invitation than that," Nora said to herself.

Taking a deep breath, she hurled herself off the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my story limps on! Huzzah!


	5. Where are you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's High Noon on the streets of Concord and someone has a Minigun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Wanted to offer a heartfelt thanks for the Hits and the Kudo's you've been leaving, I'm glad you're enjoying my little story.

(Oh, god! ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod!)

Nora landed with a concussive force knocking two raiders to the ground; the two looked up at the hulking power armor with a minigun leveled in their direction and scrambled to their feet, running away.

(H-Holy shit!) adrenaline shot through Nora's veins as she looked at the remaining raiders, a chuckle slipped from her lips; she'd just jumped off a freaking building! The laughter was picked up over a microphone in her suit and broadcast outward to the rest of the raiders.

"Lay down your weapons and leave! This is your only warning!" putting as much authority behind the voice as she could muster, she turned the minigun on the remaining raiders.

"You think you're going to take us all on in the raggedy piece of shit armor?" "Gristle," Nora guessed, responded, "We're going to pry you out of there and make you regret playing the hero!"

"You want to bet your life on that?" she asked, leveling the gun at him specifically; a handful of raiders were no match for her, she decided, between conviction and adrenaline, Nora felt all-powerful.

"Fuck you! I bet that ain't even loaded!" Gristle spat, still showing no fear.

Nora felt her lips turn up in a grin as she pulled the trigger and felt the massive weapon begin to spin up; she was looking forward to wiping that smug grin off his face. To his credit, Gristle stood his ground, but when the gun unleashed a storm of bullets, he was one of the first to dive for cover.

The recoil kicked up, and Nora struggled to bring the weapon under control; even in her power armor, it had a hell of a kick! The first unlucky raider simply dissolved in a wet mist of red as the bullets shredded him, and a second raider was torn to pieces before the other raiders could react.

A cacophony of screaming and bullets filled the street as raiders tried desperately to find cover, tripping over the bodies of their already dead friends; anyone not behind cover met a grizzly end, Nora kept them pinned with a steady stream of fire and anyone who peaked fell victim to Preston's laser Musket.

Suddenly the seemingly unending spray of lead from her weapon ceased, and Nora realized she needed to reload; the raiders seized their opportunity and began to fire from their concealed positions, two from the second floor of a building rained bullets down on her and all of the sudden she was taking fire from all directions at once.

She could feel the impact of the bullets as they bounced off the steel, they weren't fatal, but the effect stung her in a dozen different places as she frantically reloaded.

Preston chose that moment to take his shot, and another raider fell to the ground, cursing Nora managed to slam the belt into place, directing her attention to the two raiders firing down on her from above and chopped them both to pieces.

(God damn right something big and angry is coming! It's me!) Nora thought victoriously to herself; everywhere she pointed, the minigun raiders died, she tried to find Gristle wanting to assure his death personally, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly the ground shuddered, and the remaining combatants paused and looked around, a giant explosion as something burst up from a tunnel underground. A demon rose up with a triumphant angry roar, minigun forgotten Nora gazed up at it in horror.

((Oh my god...maybe I am in hell))

Giant arms with razor-sharp claws flexed, reaching out the Deathclaw grabbed a stunned raider and lifted him into the air.

"FUCKING SHOOT IT!" The raider screamed at her before his life was extinguished in a spray of blood and crunching bones.

Swallowing her fear and overwhelming urge to run, Nora pulled the trigger, a wave of lead slammed into the Deathclaw, and it screamed in pain, the remaining raiders rallied and began shooting it.

Throwing a protective arm over its face, the beast howled before slashing another raider across the throat so hard that the man's head was separated from his shoulders; it moved with speed she didn't think possible as it went from raider to raider to raider, leaving piles of blood and bone in its wake.

After the last raider was dispatched, the Deathclaw turned to face her bleeding from dozens of wounds and cuts. It looked down on her defiantly, showing her its teeth; Nora turned the minigun on it and pulled the trigger; the weapon, however, refused to respond.

(Out of ammo!) Nora realized to her horror as the creature began to advance on her as if realizing she was a substantially weaker threat now, it growled low in its throat and reached for her, claws dripping with blood and dangling ribbons of flesh.

"Get...."

Nora could hear Preston shouting something from behind her but couldn't make out what he was saying; she couldn't risk turning her head and taking her attention off the Deathclaw; beginning to panic, she frantically pulled the trigger again to no avail.

"......down!"

With a scream of frustration, Nora hurled the gun at the deathclaw; the creature was wounded enough that its reflexes were dulled, and the weapon struck it full in the face.

"Get down!"

(Get down?") Nora puzzled.

Nora hadn't realized one of the cars catching fire behind them as she fought. Before she could heed Prestons advice, the car exploded, the Deathclaw took the brunt of the blast, but the resulting shockwave sent them both flying backward, Nora landing hard on her right shoulder with a cry of pain.

\--

The world spun and titled as Nora raised her head; after a few moments of fighting nausea, she sat up; the Deathclaw lay twitching on the ground. How it was still alive after that was beyond her.

Pushing herself up on her arms, she tried to stand, but the pain from her shoulder and a body that had been pushed to its limits sent her back down to her knees; she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so exhausted.

Suddenly to her disbelief, the deathclaw began to get back to its feet, swaying there like a boxer that had gone ten rounds; its eyes settled on her, and it let out a low rumbling growl, staggering over to her, it flexed its arms and reached out for her with those claws that Nora imagined would have no trouble shredding the old power armor to pieces.

"Shaun...I'm sorry," she said as she heard the claws begin to scrape the metal of her helmet.

Suddenly a Laser musket shot whizzed by its head, and the deathclaws attention was drawn to the balcony, looking back to Nora, and then to the balcony, it decided that she was the lesser threat and began to head for the museum.

"Preston! Nora tried to shout; The raiders they could have held off with a little luck, but the deathclaw wounded as it was would tear the Minuteman to pieces! She had to do something.

"Get up!" she yelled at herself. "Get up, Get up, GET UP!"

She was digging deeper than she'd knew possible. Nora ordered her limbs to obey her, reaching down into a deep feral corner of her mind, she got to her feet, ignoring all pain.

"Shaun..." she growled.

Reaching out, she grabbed the deathclaw by the tail as it strode past her; rising to her feet, she twisted and pulled, feeling something in the tail break, against every instinct Nora possessed, she yanked the creature back towards her.

The giant creature spun around with a roar of pain that was abruptly cut off by a punch to the jaw; Nora was by no means a boxer, but the power armor still augmented her strength, and it was more than enough to rock the creatures head to the side.

(HIT IT! HIT IT! HIT IT!) Nora saw red, putting every bit of strength she could behind the blows, feeding off a crazed kind of energy, unaware that she was screaming her son's name over and over again until the word became unintelligible.

The deathclaw staggered back, wilting under the blows and trying desperately to put distance between the two of them, unwilling to let that happen, Nora charged in and bore it to the ground raining down blow after blow after blow until she was rewarded with a loud crunch that told her the creature's skull had caved in. It's arms with those razor-sharp claws fell limp to the ground.

Nora came back to reality, finding herself standing over the deathclaw, the gauntlets of her power armor dripping with blood and brain matter, gasping for breath as she realized what she'd just done.

With a dying beep, the fuel cell powering her armor gave out, plunging the inside of the armor into darkness, suddenly her layer of protection had become a pitch-black tomb.

"out! Out! OUT!!!!" Nora screamed as she hit the release, the power armor opened with a groan, and she spilled out onto the ground, shivering as the adrenaline wore off, and trying to hold herself together.

Preston had vanished from the balcony, they would be coming out soon, and the last thing Nora wanted was for them to see her a shuddering, weeping mess on the ground, standing up. She staggered for the door of the nearby speakeasy, opening it up, she threw herself inside, slamming the door behind her; she needed to shut the wretched world out if only for a few moments.

Openly weeping now and clutching her shoulder in pain, she lay her head back against the door and tried to bring herself under some kind of emotional control; her body ached in dozens of places, and bruises covered her arms, the armor had deflected the bullets, but it hadn't been thick enough that she hadn't felt the impact.

Closing her eyes to stop the room from spinning, Nora meant to open them again, but instead, she blacked out.

\--

The sound of voices brought her back; Nora realized she couldn't have been out for long.

"Boss, I know you want to look for her, but there's a storm rolling in; if Sanctuary is where Mama says it is, then we need to get there and get a roof over our heads."

Sturges, Nora realized.

"I'm not leaving anyone else behind Sturges," she heard Preston begin to argue, but then the old woman's voice cut in.

"She's going to be fine, Preston, she just needs to talk to the doctor first; you'll find them both tomorrow, now we need to go if we're going to beat the storm, come on Sanctuary awaits."

"The doctor? Find them both? Mama, there aren't any doctors around here, what if she's hurt? I won't leave anyone else behind to die." The concern in Preston's voice touched Nora.

"She's battered and bruised, but she's not broken, she'll come back to us," Nora heard the old woman exclaim, their voices faded, and Nora realized they were heading away from Concord.

The blackout had done her good, her thoughts seemed to be in working order, she stood up, and body protested in so many places that she was nearly driven back to her knees again by the pain; looking over, she saw three skeletons seated around a table, their bones picked clean by time.

More death...Trying to shut out the world had only lead her to more death.

Nora opened the door to the speakeasy, her eyes drifted up, and down the streets of Concord littered with rubble and bodies, finally settling on the church next to the museum, she began to half walk half stagger towards the church, surely there would be no death in the church!.

Nearly falling into the church, she dragged herself painfully over to a pew and sat down; how many services had she and Nate attended over the years? Neither one had been very religious, but somehow going to church every few Sundays to "Pay their spiritual dues," so to speak, had felt right.

The church was as defiled as the rest of Concord, and it filled her with a sense of despair; what had she been expecting? Her despair turned to anger, and she began to yell with more strength than she thought her voice possessed.

"Was THIS part of your divine plan?" she screamed up at the altar "An empty ruined world! With people killing one another on your damn doorstep! Where are you!" she screamed openly sobbing now.

"WHERE ARE YOU!"

Weeping, she slumped down to the floor and leaned against the pew, the world was spinning now, and darkness was creeping at the edges of her vision, overwhelmed and exhausted, Nora welcomed the blackness; any escape from the world was welcome.

"Where...are...you."

She heard footsteps approaching but couldn't find the strength to open her eyes.

"He's not here." she heard an unfamiliar male voice say, "But I am."

Unable to open her eyes, she felt someone unzipping her vault suit; though she struggled weakly against her assailant, he quickly contained her flailing arms.

"No..." she managed to get out before she felt a stabbing pain in her shoulder, and then blackness took her completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feedback and Constructive criticism are always welcome.


	6. Rise and Shine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora wakes up feeling better than she has any right to be feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter el sixo!

"Nora? Nora!"

Nora came awake with a start, looking into Preston's concerned face, the Minute-man was shaking her shoulders gently but firmly.

"Oh, thank god." he sighed, relief flooding his face; taking his hands off her shoulders, he slumped down in front of her, "I thought we'd lost you."

"No...uh...I'm ok Preston," Nora said, trying to remember where she was, she looked around the ruined church, and suddenly, everything came flooding back; the last thing she remembered was someone unzipping her vault suit.

"Nora?" Preston asked as her hands flew to her chest and her Vault suit's zipper; she looked down at herself, eyes wide. "What's wrong?"

"I was banged up...I crawled into the church and passed out; the last thing I remember was someone unzipping my vault suit and a pain in my shoulder, he spoke briefly, but I can't remember what he was saying," Nora said, her voice rising in panic.

Preston reached down next to her and picked up a used Stimpak syringe lying on the floor, "This maybe? Were you hurt badly?"

Nora found her zipper was where it belonged and didn't feel she'd been taken advantage of in any way; sitting up, she was further confused when a blanket fell from her chest and into her lap.

"My shoulder..." she said, looking around at the daylight flooding through the church, "Was on fire," reaching up, she rubbed her shoulder and was surprised to find it pain-free, rolling her shoulder; she felt only a little stiffness.

"So you're saying someone used a stimpak on you, covered you up with a blanket, and left? You must have some Guardian Angel," Preston said in wonder, "You think you can stand up?" he asked, rising to his feet and holding out his hand to her.

Nora took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, testing her legs, she found that aside from the stiffness of spending the night on a wood floor, her body was in perfect working order, reaching down to fold up the blanket she tucked it under her arm and followed Preston out of the church.

"Your friend Codsworth was very distressed when we came back without you," Preston said as they walked into the early morning light, "Mama Murphy calmed him down though, and I promised I'd come search for you first thing in the morning." Nora could hear the unspoken guilt in his voice.

"Preston, it's ok; I know you didn't want to leave yesterday, but there was a storm coming in, and you had to see the others to safety," Nora reached out, giving his shoulder a brief squeeze. "I don't hold it against you."

They walked in companionable silence as Preston digested her words; Nora had the impression that she could trust Preston with more of her story, but just how much of it? Up the hill to the Red Rocket garage, Nora couldn't help but take comfort in the beautiful blue sky; it was the most normal thing she'd seen since coming out of the Vault, then she looked off to the side, seeing the monstrous corpse of what looked like a two-headed bull, half-devoured and rotting in the sunlight, she cast her gaze back to the blue sky, but the moment had been ruined.

"Uh, Preston? Is it ok if we stop here?" she said, gesturing to the Red Rocket station.

"Of course Nora, oh that reminds me," he set his pack down and rummaged through it, "Codsworth insisted that I give you this when I found you," he said, pulling out a can of purified water and a package of Fancy Lad snack cakes and passing it to her.

Nora wouldn't have thought she could be hungry after what she'd just seen, but her stomach began to rumble just looking at the food; tearing open the package, she devoured one of the snack cakes and guzzled half the can of water before remembering her manners, looking up at Preston she offered him the other half.

"No, thank you, I've eaten," she could tell by the way he smiled that the gesture had touched him, "Sharing food? You're really not from around here, are you?" 

"Is it so wrong?" Nora asked him before making the other cake vanish in record time.

"There's nothing "wrong" with it no," Preston told her, "It's just that most people are starving around here, and sharing what little they have isn't practical, and that's if raiders aren't trying to steal what little people have," he said shaking his head.

"It's so different..." Nora sighed, looking around, "The same but different, and it's so quiet."

'Different?" Preston asked her, his eyes went to her vault suit, and realization dawned on him, "So you really did come out of a Vault then? Some people find the Vault suits and put them on, but you put yours on back in the day, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I...I just escaped yesterday, Came out, and saw everything for the first time," she sighed, fighting the urge to cry.

"Hey," Preston said, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder, "It's ok, you've got friends in Sanctuary, its a nice secure place to live, Sturges and I? We'll bring you up to speed, I promise."

"Thank you, Preston, and it is a nice place to live; I used to live in Sanctuary before the bombs fell." 

"Before? So that means you're..."

"Two Hundred years old? Two hundred and ten, according to Codsworth," Nora said shaking her head, "I know it's hard to believe, hell I still have a hard time believing it, it feels like we were running for the safety of the vault just yesterday."

"We?" so there were others with you?" Preston asked her, "Did anyone else make it out with you?"

"M-my husband a-and my baby went in and...and..." Now the tears did come, much to Nora's embarrassment, she put her head in her hands and wept as once again the weight of what she'd lost descended onto her shoulders.

"Hey, hey now," Once again, Preston's hand settled gently on her shoulder, "Look, let's get you home, ok? Give you some time to get settled back in; it's clear you have a lot to get off your chest, Sturges, and I can come over later, and you can lay it all on us, ok?"

It took Nora a few minutes to get herself under control, but when she did, she looked up at Preston with a smile, "Thank you, Preston, it would feel good to get it all off my chest." standing up, she let her hand drift to the pistol at her hip, it was a reminder of her time with Nate and the most vital connection that Nora had to him at the moment that she could put her hands on.

They headed up the road and into Sanctuary; the dog was the first to greet them, barking happily; Nora was grateful for the enthusiastic greeting and rubbed the dog under the chin and scratched behind his ears.

"There she is!" Sturges said with a bright smile as they drew nearer to her house. "The little lady that killed a deathclaw!" he shook her hand enthusiastically.

Nora spoke to him for several minutes, but exhaustion was creeping up on her; excusing herself and letting Preston know she'd see them later, she trudged up to her walkway and through the door of her home.

"Miss Nora!" Codsworth hurried over to greet her as she stepped through the door, "Oh, but it makes me happy to see you step through that door! I was rather distressed when you didn't return home last night, but Mama Murphy assured me that you were meeting with someone and would be home this morning."

Exhausted as she was, Nora couldn't help but be puzzled. She had run into a benevolent soul that had helped her, though Nora was no wiser to the person's identity, the fact that Mama Murphy seemed to be expecting it made Nora think that she needed to talk with the woman sooner than later.

"Codsworth Honey, I'm so glad to see you, and I promise that I will fill you in on everything that happened later, but right now, I'm exhausted. Can you wake me up for dinner? We can talk then."

"Of course, Mum! I will be nearby if you need me, so don't hesitate to call out." 

Heading into the bedroom, she fell into bed; she had about enough energy to cover up with the blanket that her "Doctor" had left for her before Nora fell into a deep sleep, having survived her first trip into the wasteland, her rest was well earned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you in chapter 7! as always thank you for taking the time to read my story! Means the world to me.


	7. A Precious Commodity.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prepared for the future, again.

The smell of dinner cooking pulled Nora out of a deep sleep, the sound of hammering from across the street brought her the rest of the way.

Life was returning to Sanctuary.

Standing up, Nora yawned and made her way out into the kitchen, running her fingers through her tangled blond hair, she decided it needed to be trimmed, someone grabbing her by the hair and trying to hurt her would be a reality now.

"Miss Nora! I trust you slept well?" Nora looked around the kitchen to see that a table and four chairs had been added in her absence. "Ah yes, the table and chairs, I trust you don't Mind, mum, but I pilfered them from the neighboring homes; Mister Garvey stopped by earlier and mentioned he and Sturges would be coming by for a visit; I assumed you would want a place to receive them."

"Codsworth, Honey, it's perfect, thank you," sitting down in one of the chairs, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. A few moments later, Codsworth brought dinner to her. As she ate, Nora filled him in on what had happened since she'd last seen him.

"So you rescued all these fine people then, I would expect no less from you, Miss Nora, Sir would be "Very" proud of you..." he trailed off when he saw tears trickling down her cheeks. "Forgive me, mum, I shouldn't have mentioned..."

"No, Codsworth, it's not that, you can always mention Nate, it's just, I killed people yesterday, and I did it so easily...I didn't know I was capable of killing a human being Codsworth, I don't...I don't think I know who I am anymore." the tears came freely now.

"Mum," Codsworth was next to her, speaking as softly as his programming would allow, "I've had a great deal of time to learn these last two Centuries, and if I've learned anything, it is that life is fragile, people, even those that mean the world to you, they go away, they die, and sometimes the best thing you can do is carry on to honor their memory."

"Codsworth..." Nora sighed, scrubbing the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"You are carrying on for sir, for Mister Nate, You are trying to find Young Shaun; with the rotten state of the world, you may have to make some harsh adjustments to your moral compass." Codsworth told her, putting one of his appendages on her shoulder, "But no matter how you adjust, you will always be Nora, you will always be carrying on to Honor your loved ones."

"Codsworth, that's beautiful, thank you for that," His words hit home, she realized with a grim certainty that she would have to kill again before she found Shaun. If she didn't adjust her "Moral Compass," as Codsworth suggested, she wasn't going to survive long in this new world. She would need to learn new things and make changes.

And she had a pretty good idea about where she could start.

"Codsworth? Do you think you could give me a haircut?"

\--

By the time Preston and Sturges showed up, she was sporting shoulder-length hair, one less thing she would have to worry about if she found herself in a fight.

"Tactical hair, nice!" Sturges said, giving her a thumbs up.

He and Preston came baring Alcohol, and as the night wore on, they all found they needed to hit the bottle a few times. Preston told her about The Quincy Massacre and the fall of the Minutemen and how they'd been running for their lives ever since, sitting on the couch, bottle in hand, Preston looked like a man relaxing for the first time in months, Sturges too.

When they finished, Nora told them her story, about being hurried into the Vault just before the bombs dropped, promised safety only to be frozen and locked away. She shed tears again when she told them about Nate's death and her son's kidnapping.

"I'm going to find him," she told them, "No matter what it takes."

The three sat back for a moment, each of them has said their piece, Preston passed her the bottle, and Nora took a long pull before giving it to Sturges.

"Can I bounce something off you?" Preston asked her.

"Of course Preston."

"I think we need each other," he began. "Right now we're all exhausted, we need to build ourselves back up, make Sanctuary a place where we and others can feel safe. While we do this, Sturges and I can give you a crash course in wasteland survival."

"I would so love to see Sanctuary rebuilt to her former glory," Codsworth chimed in.

"Once we've recuperated, I want to...I want to rebuild the Minutemen, "Preston stated, his gaze meeting Nora's. "It'll be slow going at first, we'll need to help small settlements, bring the people together under our banner, but once we do, momentum will be on our side Nora!" she could hear the growing excitement in his voice as he looked to the future and saw hope for the first time in a long time.

"With the commonwealth behind us, we'll have more resources to dedicate to helping find your son, and when we do find him, you'll have an army at your back."

"And you think I can play a major role in rebuilding the Minutemen?" Nora just had to wonder where she was going to fit into this enthusiastic plan of his.

"I"m not asking you to be General of the Minutemen," Preston reassured her, "But your potential is untapped, Nora, all I ask is that you take an active role in this with me, as time goes by, you can decide your own position in the Minutemen.

Nora couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of her being a General in the Wasteland. "Glad to hear it, Preston, because if you start calling me General, I'm going to start calling you Presto."

"You know I kind of like the sound of that, Presto...." Sturges pondered out loud.

"Start calling me Presto and so help me, I will Promote you to Latrine digger," Preston warned, a smirk on his face that said he may have had a little too much to drink, but Nora guessed they all had at that point; she also found herself smiling at the easygoing comradery they seemed to share.

"No can do boss, I never officially signed on to the Minutemen," Sturges said, standing up and stretching his arms over his head with a groan, "I am what you call an Independent contractor, got plans to stay here in Sanctuary if all goes well she might just turn into my forever home."

Standing up, he ambled over to Nora and gave her a hug. "Little Lady, I thank you for the hospitality, but I have an honest to god bed calling my name across the street, and I'm going to go and get reacquainted; with a little thing called sleep."

"Good night Sturges, glad to have you here," Nora returned the hug; as he walked out into the night, she pondered Preston's offer; on the one hand, there was a pressing urgency to begin the search for her son, the weight of what she didn't know pressed down on her, and it would smother her if she let it. 

On the other hand, she'd barely set foot out of Sanctuary before being swept up in the Bloodbath that had been Concord; Nora realized she could all too easily find herself in another fight against impossible odds, and who was to say her luck ould continue to hold?

"You don't have to give me an answer tonight, Nora, if fact, you don't need to give me an answer at all, you don't owe us anything more, in fact, it's us that...."

"So I join the Minutemen and I get to name my own pay and job title, right? That was the offer?"

Preston laughed. "That's the offer more or less," 

"Alright, Preston," Nora said, holding out her hand, "I accept."

"Good, Good!" Preston said, shaking her hand firmly, a warm smile lighting up his face; seeing that smile, Nora could help but think that for the first time since coming out of the Vault, she could allow herself a little hope.

And that, she was learning, was a precious commodity in the Wasteland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading chapter 7! As mentioned before I don't intend to make too many drastic changes to the story, I don't plan on jumping the radshark anytime soon, however I do want to adjust the perception of some characters, giving them a more gentle or patient outlook. Marcy in future chapters will probably be one of the most drastic changes I make, I have a whole backstory thought out for her and why she's so angry with the world. (Aside from losing her child of course.) So I hope you'll continue to join me as the story plugs along,


	8. Greeting the Sun.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little insight into how Marcy's feeling and Nora makes a choice about her future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8 for your Perusal!

-Marcy-

Marcy woke to a wave of low simmering anger in her chest; throughout the day, that anger would spike, periodically she'd be ambushed by moments of profound sorrow, seeing a toy on the ground or a baby bottle discarded in some dusty corner of one of the ruined houses would bring about moments of uncontrollable grief, these moments Marcy only allowed when she was alone, under no circumstances was anyone going to see her cry.

Jun was doing enough crying for both of them; since losing Kyle, her "husband" was deteriorating mentally and physically right before her eyes.

Marcy couldn't bring herself to give a shit, just seeing him ripped the scab off old wounds, and without their son to be a buffer between them (God, that was a fucked up way to think about their child), all she could do was think about how much she hated him.

Marcy did the only thing she could think of; she channeled all her anger and energy into working the small plot of crops she'd discovered behind the home Sturges had claimed; Marcy worked till her hands were raw and bleeding, and she was so physically exhausted she barely had the energy to crawl back to the house she lived in "Alone" and fall into her bed.

If she wasn't tired, enough grief would overtake her, and she would weep well into the night until sleep took her one way or the other, then she would wake up the next morning hating herself and feeling that familiar low simmer anger in her chest.

It was during that walk from her house to Sturges that she happened to look up and see something so surprisingly beautiful that for one moment, the cycle of grief and anger was paused in her head.

It was the woman from the Vault; what was her name? Nora? Halfway down the walkway of her home, head turned upwards to catch the caress of the sun that shone down on her, eyes closed and a look of absolute peace coming over her face that Marcy desperately envied.

She'd cut her lengthy hair; the shorter cut suited her even better than the long flowing locks had, as if realizing she was being watched, Nora turned her head, and those striking green eyes settled on Marcy, for a reason Marcy couldn't fathom Nora's face lit up, and she waved to her, it was a smile that was too good for the commonwealth, no one was that friendly without expecting something in return, Marcy's hand was raised to wave back, but she stopped herself, instead turning and slinking into the back yard to begin the lengthy process of watering the crops.

But that memory of Nora greeting the sun would stick with her.

-Nora-

The bright sun woke Nora as it shined through her open window (And the holes in the walls). Sitting up in bed, she stretched her arms over her head and got up; she washed up and grabbed a quick breakfast from Codsworth before heading outside to see what the day had to throw at her.

With a plan drawn out, her life had guidance, and with that, Nora felt more invigorated and energetic than a woman who'd gone over two hundred years without a cup of coffee had any right to feel.

She felt the sun on her face, and for a moment, she closed her eyes and lifted her head up to feel that gentle touch, the world may have gone to hell, but at least the sun still came out.

Opening her eyes, she looked across the street and saw Marcy watching her; Nora smiled brightly and waved to her; she was glad to see the other woman; she guessed Marcy was close to her age, and Nora hoped she could strike up a friendship with her.

She watched the woman start to wave but then stop herself, then turn away and go into the backyard where the crops were growing. 

Nora admired Marcy's work ethic and dedication to making those crops grow, there were too few crops to support the six of them, but Nora remembered there'd been a farm not far from Sanctuary back in the day; if they were lucky, there might be people there now working the land and willing to trade.

Preston had called for a meeting in an hour, it would be the first time they'd all sat down together to plan anything together, and Nora found herself looking forward to it; however, before the meeting, Preston had asked to speak to her in private.

The home Sturges had claimed had been deemed the official gathering point for all meetings, the "Townhall" of Sanctuary; over two hundred years, it had become someone's garage as tools, and a Power Armor repair station had been set up there. Naturally, Sturges had made his home there.

Preston was seated at a salvaged table in the middle of the room, he looked like a man who had a lot of sleep to catch up on, but his face lit up when he saw her.

"Good morning Preston; you wanted to talk to me?" 

"Nora, Good Morning, I uh, well...I was hoping you might want this back." reaching down, he picked up and laid a Laser Musket down on the table.

Hearing the Hesitation in Prestons voice, Nora couldn't help but feel guilty; she'd been his Knight in shining armor, and he'd probably assumed her to a Merc with a taste for killing, not a weepy Pre-war Relic with an identity crisis, Preston was no doubt having to re-evaluate his opinion of her. She could see on his face that he was prepared for her to turn him down.

Sitting down at the table, she looked down at the weapon; she remembered the vibrating hum of energy in her hands, like holding a live wire without the risk of getting shocked; she'd surprisingly enjoyed that feeling; it was Power in its most physical form.

She also remembered how easy it had been to kill with it.

"I know they were bad people; I don't regret saving you, Preston, but..."

"But you've got doubts because it was so easy to do in the first place?" Preston startled her by reading her mind.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Nora, I was an absolute wreck the first time I killed someone," Preston told her. "We came upon a group of raiders putting the torch to a small settlement, there was a Raider on top of a young woman trying to...well trying to do what Raiders do," Preston sighed. "I was green, so green that I hadn't even fired my weapon in combat before, but what I saw made me so angry that I raised my rifle and pulled the trigger so quickly you'd think I'd done it a thousand times before."

Preston had a faraway look in his eye that Nora had often seen in her husband when he'd told her a story of something that had happened "Overseas."

"I killed that man so quickly, after the battle, everyone was so impressed with how quickly I'd acted, but my hands wouldn't stop shaking, and I had this feeling tearing me up inside, like I'd eaten some bad Cram, not that there's good Cram mind you but still, my CO recognized it was my first kill, so he took me aside, gave me a drink and I told him how I was feeling.

She watched Preston run his hands over the Musket as he talked and wondered if he was even aware he was doing it.

"He knew how I was feeling, he'd probably seen it a hundred times by that point, Some Green kid killing for the first time, he told me he'd understand if I wanted to put the Musket down and walk away, but then he asked me if It had just been me there, would I have felt better or worse if I'd done nothing at all, and I knew in my heart of hearts that If I'd let that woman die I wouldn't have been able to live with myself."

"Preston..." Nora reached out and squeezed his hand; she watched as he came back to the present just the way Nate had, realizing he was no longer in that moment and back in reality. Preston, to his credit, seemed embarrassed to show himself in such a vulnerable light.

Picking the Laser Musket up in her hands, Nora held it to her chest.

"I couldn't have walked away from all of you; it's not who I am."

"I knew that from the moment I saw you." Preston was visibly relieved by her answer, "But I'm glad to hear, "You" say it."

"You'll teach me the finer points of using this, I trust? I don't want to burn a house down because I miss a shot."

Preston laughed at that. "I don't think we're going to have to worry about that, but I promise you, Nora, I'll teach you everything you need to know."

Nora smiled at Preston; hearing the gratitude in his voice, she felt like maybe she'd managed to take another small step forward in the Wasteland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience, I know these chapters as slow coming out but hopefully, you're all still finding them entertaining, I'm going to try switching perspective back and forth between Marcy and Nora to better convey their feelings for what's going on and ultimately their feelings for each other.


	9. Wasteland Education

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora gets a wasteland education, and Marcy struggles with the grief of her past.

The next two weeks were probably the busiest of Nora's life; sitting next to Preston as he called the first meeting of many, Nora felt a wave of Nostalgia as they sat around a table in the yellow house across from hers; how often had the ladies of the neighborhood gathered her to gossip, of finalizing Halloween or Christmas decoration plans? Probably about as often as then men had assembled there to play Poker.

Their first official act as a fledgling settlement had been to start gathering food and water. Codsworth offered up the key to the cellar where he'd been storing food and water over the years; Nora could see the group's morale rising as they unloaded it all.

Sturges presented an idea that there was perfectly good Deathclaw meat waiting for them in Concord; all they had to do was harvest it, Nora wasn't entirely sold on the idea, but the rest embraced it with enthusiasm.

"I mean, he was going to eat us." Sturges told when they set out for Concord, "I Promise I'll save a big cut for you," Nora wasn't sure if she felt sickened by the idea or honored.

Codsworth came along with them, his buzzsaw sheering chunks of meat off the dead creature with the efficiency of a skilled butcher; the rest of them went about looting the corpses of the Raiders for weapons, ammo, and armor; it was perhaps the most grizzly day of work Nora had done since she'd come out of the vault, but she realized that it was necessary.

Nora kept an eye on everyone as they worked, Sturges worked with Codsworth to gather all the meat they possibly could, Marcy and Preston stripped the dead of their armor, stuffing them into Canvas bags, Nora and Jun gathered up weapons and unspent ammo.

Nora found a small pouch on one of the raider's belts, there was a weight to it, and it jingled, not with coins Nora saw when she opened it but bottlecaps.

"You'll want to keep those," Jun said softly as she went to throw the pouch aside.

Out of all of them, Jun concerned Nora greatly; he was emaciated as he never ate much, slept a great deal of time, and always looked exhausted; he never turned anyone down when asked to help but was still too wrapped up in his grief to volunteer.

Which was why Nora was startled even to hear his voice.

"These? What for?" she asked.

"It's money," Jun told her, she wanted to ask him more about it, but he'd shut down again, going about his task like a zombie.

By the time they returned to Sanctuary, they had more Deathclaw meat than Nora knew what to do with, a small armory's worth of pipe weapons and ammo, along with three shotguns and a generous amount of shells; Preston was pleased with the haul.

Nora admired the way Marcy worked; she was as skinny and underfed as the rest of them, but she hauled two canvas bags over her shoulders back to Sanctuary with no complaint; Nora was biting back groans carrying just one bag, and by the time they got back to Sanctuary her shoulder muscles and lower back were killing her!

During her first weeks in the wasteland, Nora quickly learned that aches and pain were a way of life; her pre-war body wasn't prepared for such Hardship, but she watched Marcy and how hard the woman worked and found herself inspired by her.

The Deathclaw meat energized all of them (Even Nora had to admit it was one of the finest meals she'd had since waking up), which gave them the energy they needed to scrap everything useful they could from the ruins of Sanctuary; it was here that Nora got an education from Sturges on how to repair armor and better still how to mod weapons.

Once Sturges discovered she knew how to break down her Pistol, he began to teach her about improving it, showing her how to give it more stopping power, enhancing the sights, and converting the grip, making it more comfortable for her smaller hands to hold.

There was always something to do, Scraping Sanctuary, learning from Sturges, learning from Preston, an impromptu firing range had been set up, and she spent a great deal of time there learning how to use her new Laser Musket, she learned how to break it down and keep it clean.

It was a time that most of them came together, good times, but there were also times that worried them; one afternoon, they heard gunfire in the hills towards the back of Sanctuary, the rest of the day was spent with uneasy tension hanging over their heads, once enough time had passed, however, and they realized they weren't under attack Preston decided that they needed someone on patrol round the clock.

Codsworth was all too happy to take the night shift allowing them the luxury of sleep; he would be relieved by Preston, who would patrol till mid-afternoon, then Jun would take the last shift, it stretched the three of them thin, but they all felt safer.

-Two weeks later-

"So much to do and not enough hands to do it, little Sister," Sturges sighed one day, "We need some new recruits."

"Little lady" had evolved into "little sister" as she got closer to Sturges; they worked together for hours throughout the day as he taught her how to break down and process scrap; there was a never-ending pile of it in his home and a hundred different uses for all of it, his current project was trying to build a water purifier down by the waterfront next to the bridge that overlooked Sanctuary.

"You're just looking for more people to fleece at Poker," Nora accused; she'd been overjoyed to learn Poker was still a game that was played. They all tried to gather and play a couple nights of the week where they weren't all exhausted; even Marcy played during Poker Night, though Jun usually declined the invites.

"Hey, you can never have too many caps," Sturges sighed. "But, I'd give half my winnings from last night to have another set of hands to help process all this junk," he said, taking a drink of water.

"You saying you'd pay caps to have someone help you handle your junk?" Nora snickered, raising her eyebrow.

Sturges turned a particular shade of red as he choked on the water he'd been drinking, the humor between them would have been right at home in a frat house, but Nora loved it; Sturges kept her from dwelling on the bad. As crude and low brow as it ever got, Sturges never made her feel unsafe in any way; he was protective of her, the big brother she'd never had.

"You know that reminds me," he began when he'd caught his breath, "About a woman who did certain things for caps back in Quincy, for about fifty caps she'd do this trick with four or five Mutfruit that...."

"Oh my god, Sturges!" This time it was Nora turning beet red, "You better finish this story by telling me she ate them." Nora leveled a finger at him.

"She did! She did!" Sturges said, raising his hands in self-defense, "Eventually...."

Their laughter carried through the house, and Preston paused Mid Patrol to stop and smile at the sound of it.

-Marcy-

She could feel Jun slipping away from here as the weeks past; digging deep, Marcy tried to come up with a reason to fight for their relationship, but without Kyle in their lives, all she could feel was the hurt from the past.

She'd gone to the house he called home, she'd tried to knock on the door, but her hand froze, laying her head against the door she heard quiet weeping coming from the inside, but still, her hand would not budge.

She thought back to before Qunicy; Jun had been tough, in control, a businessman, but tender and devoted to her; she'd fallen for him as hard as anyone could fall for a man, but in the end, she'd turned out to be just another bit of business for Jun.

She could still remember slipping quietly into his house wanting to share with him some of the best news of her life, only to overhear a conversation she was never meant to hear, peering through a doorway still hidden she'd heard him, the callousness in his voice hitting her like a punch to the gut.

"You've done what I paid you to do, now stop fucking my wife, take your caps and leave."

It was five, maybe six years removed now but oh how raw that betrayal still was.

Marcy bit down on the rage, making fists; she dug her nails into her palms till she drew blood.

Storming away from his house and went back to her own, slamming the door with all her strength she paced angrily across the floor trying to bring herself under control, bringing her memory of Nora to her mind, she imagined the way she'd looked turning her face up to the sun, how she'd opened her eyes and her face had lit up when she'd seen Marcy.

Marcy wondered what it would feel like to be in a relationship like that, where someone could be so happy just at the sight of their loved one; keeping Nora's smile in her mind and focusing on it like a lighthouse in a storm, she slowly felt the anger drain from her.

Then the tears came, and much like Jun, she kept them quiet and to herself as she wept.

Marcy could handle the tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.


	10. Drowning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora makes Marcy an offer to help with her grief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say a quick thank you to you all for the happy little milestone of breaking 100 hits! Your Hits, Kudos, and Comments are always appreciated and always encouraging! So from the bottom of my happy little writer's heart thank you!

-Marcy-

Marcy found herself looking forward to poker nights in Sanctuary; it was a three or four-hour break from everything soul-crushing about the commonwealth; it was people gathered around the table playing cards, passing around a few bottles of scavenged alcohol; it was also one of the few times Nora let loose and swore, Mostly at Sturges when he called her bluff.

Marcy didn't say much during these games; she didn't win much either; most of her wins came at Preston's expense; he was too honest a soul to play poker. The man wore his heart on his sleeve, or maybe on his hat; Marcy couldn't remember a time when he ever took the damn thing off.

She was headed out the door relishing the thought of distracting herself from grief and anger for a few hours, when she happened to glance over at a countertop, and all the clutter gathered there and saw it.

"Oh...." a soft whimper slipped from her mouth.

It was tiny; no wonder her eyes had passed over it so many times; the small plastic bottle was much like the one she'd used to feed Kyle when he was a baby; picking it up, she brought it to her chest, and everything came roaring back.

How Kyle had idolized the Minutemen when they'd come to Quincy, no matter how many times they tried to break him of the habit every time he saw a Minuteman uniform, he would run off after them wanting to look at their cool weapons or perhaps hear a story.

How she'd screamed when he vanished during a gunner attack one day, running through the combat zone with no regards for her safety, how horrified she'd been to find him on the ground clutching his leg and crying.

The stray bullet left him with a limp and a painful lesson that no child his age should have had to endure. But finally, he seemed to be broken of his habit of following the Minutemen all over town.

In the end, it didn't matter when the Gunners finally broke through Quincy's walls; they'd gunned down Minutemen, civilians and children alike; Jun had been holding him in his arms as they ran, and though he'd turned his body to protect Kyle from the gunfire by making himself the target it hadn't been enough, they didn't even realize he was dead until they were miles away.

Marcy wanted to scream and wail, but she bit down on her emotions lest her screams attract the Gunners' attention, so she built a wall of anger and took shelter behind it, letting no one in. Preston himself had dug a grave for her son, refusing to move as risky as it was until he was laid to rest.

Every day since then, she'd been adding to that wall, making it stronger and stronger, but the wall was battered, and sometimes chunks fell out of it.

Gripping the cup to her chest Marcy ran out the door of her house, feeling the wall crumbling around her heart. She needed to get away, anywhere, anywhere, but here.

-Nora-

"Sturges, you cheating molerat bastard!" Nora swore, throwing her cards down on the table. To his credit, Sturges wasn't the least bit humble as he pulled in the small pile of caps to add to his growing pile.

"Not my fault I can read you like a book, little sister, those pretty green eyes of yours sparkle when you got a good hand."

Preston chuckled, and Nora turned her gaze on him.

"Ok, chuckles. I got a question for you, what's under that hat of yours? I've never once seen you take it off."

"Interesting," Sturges turned his gaze on Preston. "I too would like to know the answer to this question, I mean, I've known you since Quincy, and you've never taken off the hat."

Taking a drink, Preston reached up and pulled the hat down tighter, a solemn look on his face.

"What is under this hat is a classified Minuteman secret," he told them. "And since Sturges has declared himself an independent contractor, and you Nora have yet to choose a formal minuteman position, I am not at liberty to discuss these secrets at this present time.

"Ugh, I thought I left the legal yellow tape behind me when the bombs dropped," Nora groaned. "But make no mistake, Preston, I will find the answer, I will have my day in court."

Preston tipped his hat to her; it was the most sarcastic hat-tipping she'd ever received in her life; she finished off her beer and frowned, getting up; Nora stuck her head outside the door and looked around; it wasn't the first time she'd done it that night.

"Still no sign of Marcy?" Sturges asked.

"Yeah...getting kind of worried about her, I know she likes her space, but she usually shows up for Poker night." Nora sighed, "Think, I'm going to call it a night and go check in on her."

"Before you go?" Preston asked, standing up. "I did a little scouting around that farmland you mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I didn't get too close, but it looks like there are settlers there; how would you and Sturges feel about taking Marcy out there to make contact? We've got more Deathclaw meat than we can all eat, might be able to trade it for some of their crops, make a good first impression?"

"Yeah, let them know the Minutemen are still out there, good thinking boss," Sturges said.

"If Sturges can walk that far with the weight of all those caps in his pockets, then I'm game," Nora said; she bid them a good night and headed down the sidewalk to the house Marcy called home.

Nora admired the moon as she walked; as she passed by the path leading up to the vault, a faint noise caught her attention; turning the light on her pipboy on, she made her way down to the small river.

Marcy was curled up against a tree, arms wrapped around herself, sobbing her heart out; Nora's heartbeat spiked as she hurried over and knelt in front of her.

"Marcy? Are you ok? Are you Hurt?" she asked, running her hands over Marcy's arms, trying to find any signs of injury; Marcy was unresponsive, seemingly lost in her storm of grief.

Nora was about to say something else when her pipboy light caught the reflection of the small plastic baby bottle Marcy was holding to her chest; she became painfully aware of what was behind Marcy's sorrow; rising to her feet, she slipped quietly behind Marcy, sitting against the tree she pulled Marcy into her arms and held onto her, the woman struggled at first. Still, when she opened her eyes and saw who it was, she turned into Nora wrapping her arms around her tightly and lay her head against Nora's shoulder as she cried.

"M-Must be so funny..." Marcy sniffled, "Biggest bitch in Sanctuary crying like a baby," she choked out.

"There's nothing funny about a grieving mother," Nora said softly in Marcy's ear; Marcy lay her head down on Nora's chest, and Nora held onto her as her body shook; after a long, while the tremors ceased, Nora felt like she needed to say something but was unsure of what to say, so she just started talking.

"We were so spoiled before the war; we weren't strong like you," she said, running her fingers through Marcy's hair, "If something broke, we didn't repair it, We just threw it out in the trash and got a new one, if the waiter got our orders wrong at the restaurant, or my meat was undercooked I'd send it back, fuck I was a mess if I couldn't get my morning coffee," she sighed.

Looking down, she saw Marcy looking back at her through tear-filled eyes, listening intently; there was a war going on in that woman's eyes, one between grief and determination.

"You," she said, brushing some of Marcy's hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear, "You work harder every day than I ever did on my busiest day; you eat so little and work so hard, I could barely drag one bag back from Concord, and you brought two back and made it look easy, you don't complain, you ask for so little, you have to be the strongest woman I know Marcy."

She watched as Marcy considered her words; she saw her close her eyes and give her head a little shake.

"I'm not strong," her voice was rough, tired, "I push myself to my limits every day to try and forget my pain; I spend every day doing everything I can to try and run from my grief; Nora, I'm just doing everything I can to keep from breaking!"

"You're trying to handle this all on your own? What about Jun? He's your husband, right?" the moment she said Jun's name, she felt Marcy stiffen in her arms, and a look of anger came over Marcy's face.

"He's "not" my husband," Marcy growled.

"Ok...Ok," Nora said hurriedly, "Forget I even mentioned that, alright? I'm sorry, what I want you to understand is that you're not alone, and you don't have to go through this by yourself?"

"Who's going to help me?" Marcy whispered, turning her head away; she'd spent so much time building up a wall and lashing out at anyone who got close. She couldn't imagine help as an option.

"I will," Nora said, brushing a few stray tears from Marcy's cheek with the back of her hand, "If you're sad, you come talk to me; if you're angry or you need to blow off some steam, then you come find me, if you're lonely then come sit next to me, ok?"

Marcy couldn't fathom why Nora would be so willing to offer her this level of kindness, why she'd be so ready to throw her a rope while she was drowning in grief.

"Why? You don't know me? Why are you so damn nice to me?" she asked.

"Because you're more than your pain Marcy, I know you don't feel like it right now, but you can lean on me till you find yourself again."

"You've got too much to do to have to coddle me too," Marcy pulled back to get a good look at Nora's face lit up by the pipboy light.

"You don't need coddling Marcy, I think you need a friend, and I do have a lot to do, but I'm hoping if I need to lean on someone too that I could lean on you too; maybe we can hold each other up for a little while, see how that feels?"

"I...It's just..." Marcy shook her head. "I don't know if I can be the kind of friend you need, But I'll try, ok?"

"That's all I'll ask Marcy," Nora said, standing them both up. She offered Marcy a bright smile; squeezing Marcy's hands, she stepped back.

For a moment, Marcy wanted to step back into Nora's arms; it had been so long since someone gave a damn enough to hold her, it had been so long since she'd wanted to be held.

Being held by Nora made her feel like she wasn't drowning.


	11. Abernathy Farm

The next Morning Marcy joined Sturges and Nora as they headed over to the farmland Preston had been scouting; Dogmeat took a break from his busy schedule to join them; he took point running ahead on a personal mission to sniff absolutely anything that needed sniffing.

Nora couldn't help but smile at his energy and exuberance as he ran ahead of them; she watched him flop down and roll around before bouncing back up and running over to them.

"You better not have been rolling around on a dead Molerat buddy; if I have to heat water to give you a bath when we get back home, I'm not going to be a happy camper," she told him as she ruffled the fur around his face,

Dogmeat pondered her words before sneezing on her pant leg, then something caught his attention, and he ran off barking happily.

"Well, thank you for that," Nora rolled her eyes and looked over at Marcy, "You ok today?"

"I'm...doing alright," Marcy offered her a small smile.

"She's probably one of the best traders around; she and Jun ran a general store in Quincy; it was always a popular spot." Sturges yawned and stretched, "Hopefully, you'll keep these farmers from robbing us blind."

Nora saw Marcy wince at the mention of Jun and Quincy, reaching out. She gave Marcy's shoulder a little squeeze and made sure she looked into the woman's conflicted eyes, she didn't understand Marcy's feelings on Jun, but she hoped Marcy would open up to her about it eventually.

"We've got meat, deathclaw meat," Marcy said after a moment of looking into Nora's eyes. "They should be pretty open to trade; it's not exactly easy to come by."

"Well, if we ever need more, I'm sure little sister will put on her power armor and go out and get us some more right?" Sturges grinned.

"Right, I'll just pop into the armor and head on down to the deathclaw ranch," Nora rolled her eyes. "Maybe pick up a case of beer at the Super Duper Mart on the way back? Dogmeat! What are you rolling in!" Nora groaned as she watched the dog rolling around on the ground with his back legs kicking in the air wildly.

As they came upon the farm, Nora was impressed by the sheer size of it; she could only make out one person. As they drew closer, she saw it was a young woman; Dogmeat blew any chance they had at a subtle approach by running up to her and throwing himself down and going belly up demanding belly rubs.

Nora heard the young woman chuckle in delight as she paused her work in the field and knelt down to rub Dogmeat's belly; she looked up at them as they approached, she watched warily, but Nora saw her reason that if they were traveling with a dog this friendly they probably didn't mean harm.

"Hello," Nora said, offering her hand to the young woman. "I'm Nora, these are my friends Marcy and Sturges, and you've already met Dogmeat; we've taken up residency in Sanctuary, we have some things to trade and were wondering if you were interested in parting with some of your crops."

"Lucy," The young woman said, eyeing each of them as she returned Nora's handshake; Nora noted the woman's eyes lingered on Sturges for a moment longer. "Lucy Abernathy, And if you want to talk trade, my father's around the other side in the fields.

With introductions made, Lucy led them over to her father, Dogmeat ever the diplomat ran over and threw himself down in front of the weathered man hoping for more belly rubs.

"One trick pony," Nora muttered in amusement.

"Well, ain't you a friendly mutt," The man knelt down and stroked the dog's fur for a moment before standing up to greet them. "I"m Blake Abernathy; I don't expect you're here to cause trouble but be warned we're armed here."

"No sir, not looking for any trouble, just trade, we have some Deathclaw meat, and we were hoping you might be interested in parting with some of your crops; we're trying to get some farmland up and running in Sanctuary.

Blake raised an eyebrow at that, "Deathclaw meat? How'd you come by that?"

At that point, Sturges took over the conversation, telling Blake how they'd been running since Quincy with the last of the Minutemen, how their backs had been against the wall when Nora showed up killing raiders and a Deathclaw in a set of worn-out power armor; Nora noticed as Sturges spoke Lucy Abernathy leaned up against the farmhouse with arms folded across her chest watching him intently.

((Interesting,)) Nora smiled to herself.

"Well, we heard that Ruckas going on a couple of weeks ago," Blake responded thoughtfully, "Went down to Concord looking for some scrap and saw the mess, not to mention the remains of the Deathclaw, so I know you ain't lying."

After some small talk, they got down to business; Nora introduced Marcy as the Minutemen's new "Quartermaster," which earned her a raised eyebrow from Marcy when no one else was looking.

((By the power invested in me by Preston and the Commonwealth, I now invent Minutemen Job titles!)) Nora thought as she winked at Marcy.

Marcy took over from there. For the first time, Nora saw Marcy come alive as she and Blake discussed trade. By the time they reached a deal, Marcy had looked satisfied, and Blake looked like he was glad it was over.

As they said their goodbyes, Blake pulled Nora aside.

"You say the Minutemen are back, and I'm glad to hear it; Quincy was bad business," Blake told her. "I wanted to ask you a favor, and you don't have to say yes but, well, if you happen to find a gold locket out there, with a picture of a girl that looks like Lucy in your travels, Connie and I, well we'd appreciate it if you could return it to us."

Nora's heart sank as he told her how Raiders had come demanding their crops and when his oldest daughter Mary had stood up to them, they'd shot her without hesitation.

"She's buried out back, that locket is the only piece of her we got left, and of course, those bastards stole it." Blake opened and closed his fists as he talked, "We're not sure where they came from, but I heard one of them mention about getting back to "Olivia," so if you find her, maybe you can find the locket."

"I'm sorry," Nora sighed. "I know what it's like to lose a child; I promise if I find a locket out there in my travels, I'll bring back to you," she promised.

They parted ways with enough Tato and Melon seeds to provide a plentiful harvest on the condition that they would bring more meat in on a semi-regular basis. Blake promised to deliver a portion of his crop in a few days as a gesture of goodwill to Sanctuary's new residents.

"So...Quartermaster, huh?" Marcy asked Nora once they were well away from Abernathy farm.

"Uh....congatulations on your new promotion?" Nora offered with a shrug and a smile, "It comes with unlimited gratitude and an uh....a hug? Sorry, I'm new to this Minuteman thing."

"I'm curious what position it is you've decided on that "Isn't" General but lets you grant promotions." Sturges teased.

"Sturges, I'm the last living layer in the Commonwealth; not only do I not have to answer that question, but I'll keep you wrapped up in legal red tape for Days!" Nora promised him. 

The Banter with Sturges flowed smoothly back to Sanctuary. Even Marcy seemed amused though she chose not to contribute to it, but in the back of Nora's mind she pondered the fate of Mary Abernathy, along with the word "Olivia" she'd heard that name before but for the life of her she couldn't remember where or when.

She wanted desperately to return that locket to the Abernathy family, to give them what little closure they could in this situation; she felt a deep ache in her heart, after all, this was one sad story of no doubt thousands throughout the Wasteland, how were she and Preston going to right all those wrongs? And how was she supposed to find Shaun in this broken world?

\--

"That's wonderful news!" Preston said when Nora debriefed him upon their return, "Every victory counts!" he told them as clapped Sturges on the back.

"It should also be noted that Blake Abernathy has a pretty daughter who couldn't keep her eyes off of Sturges while he was there," Nora smirked.

"Aw, come on now," Sturges blushed. "I'm sure it wasn't like that," then anxious to change the subject, he turned to Preston. "Look, boss, I've been workin on the Turret situation; with any luck, I should have it up and running by tomorrow morning at the latest."

"More good news!" Preston smiled at Sturges and then turned to Marcy, "Thank you, Marcy, for overseeing the deal; it's vital that we make connections just like this."

"It's vital that we eat Preston. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves," Marcy said, opting for practicality.

Preston accepted the gentle rebuke. He was clearly on Cloud Nine as he dismissed them all. Nora hung back for a moment debating on whether or not she should tell him about Mary and the locket.

"Was there something else, Nora?" Preston asked her with a look of concern.

It was all the encouragement she needed. She told him everything.

\--

"I see what you're getting at Nora," Preston told her gently. They'd moved the conversation to her home for the sake of privacy, sitting on a worn-out but serviceable couch together, "But, you're missing the big picture, don't get me wrong, we've got a lot of hard work ahead of us, but what our job is is to get the ball rolling, to help people so they, in turn, can help other people."

Nora admired Preston's ability to paint such an optimistic, bright picture of the future.

"Before Quincy, the Commonwealth was united, sure it was a fragile balancing act, but it was real, people are afraid now, but they still remember, what we have to do is remind them that it's still possible to get that back again."

"How are you so full of hope?" Nora asked him with a tired smile, "I'd give anything to see the world like you do, Preston."

"I think you're starting to," Preston reached out, giving her arm a gentle squeeze, "You were out there at the farm today, you observed, you listened, you saw things out there that need to be changed, you saw people that need to be helped and you recognized it, don't be too hard on yourself."

"It's hard to bring hope to others when you're in such dire need of it yourself. You've been through hell, Nora," Preston continued. "But put your trust in me, and I promise we'll get a lead on your son. In the meantime, we'll have to try and find this Olivia person."

Wiping her arm across the back of her eyes, Nora put her hand on his squeezing it back, "Thank you, Preston, you know it's the damnedest thing, but I've heard that name "Olivia" before."

"That's good!" Preston told her, "It'll come to you, Nora, and when it does, we'll find out what we're dealing with and make a plan."

"Miss Nora? Mister Garvey?" Codsworth flew in through the door in a rush.

"What is it, Codsworth? Is everything ok? Nora asked, getting to her feet. He was clearly agitated.

"I'm not certain if everything is ok, mum, but we have Company down by the bridge, and they're raiders."


	12. Visitors.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Visitors come to Sanctuary.

Laser Muskets in hand, Nora and Preston hurried down to the bridge.

"How many are there, Codsworth?" Nora asked.

"Two mum, half-starved by the looks of it," Codsworth responded.

"How do you want to handle this, Preston?" she asked the Minuteman; as they got closer, she saw Marcy with her pistol drawn standing by the bridge; she could make out two figures in the middle of the bridge that didn't appear to be interested in putting up a fight.

Despite the situation, Marcy seemed relaxed with her weapon pointed at the ground.

"Diplomacy," Preston answered, "We'll treat them like friends unless they give us a reason to think otherwise."

It was exactly the kind of response she expected from him.

Nora put a hand on Marcy's shoulder as they arrived, giving it a brief squeeze; closer now, she got her first good look at the two of them, and recognition dawned on her face.

She remembered jumping off the roof of the Concord Museum, hitting the ground and knocking two Raiders off their feet; she remembered laughing at the rush of it all and the look of fear that came across their faces; the two had run, and then Nora had lost track of them.

By the looks of them, they'd tried to survive on their own out in the wild; the Wasteland had clearly chewed them up, injured, exhausted, and hungry, approaching Sanctuary had been their last resort.

Slowly the young man laid his weapons down on the bridge and stepped back; the woman, after a moment's hesitation, followed his lead.

"Look..." he started, "I know we've got no right to be here, I know you know we took orders from Gristle, but...we've got nowhere else to go, if you want to punish someone, punish me, but leave Lexi out of it ok?"

"Are there any others with you?" Preston asked, looking behind them

"Just us." he promised, "Everyone else is dead."

Preston oversaw him as he spoke, "Why didn't you head back to Corvega? return to your group?"

"We didn't WANT to!" The young woman, Lexi, cut in, "They've made our lives a living hell!:

"So you didn't join up of your own free will? You were forced?" Preston asked her.

"No...I mean, yes, we joined...but..." She trailed off, realizing she was digging a deeper hole.

"Look, we joined because we wanted to be safe; we needed protection because we couldn't make it on our own," The young man said to Preston, "When you join Gristles crew, they own you for six months; you do whatever they tell you to, for me it was a lot of physical abuse, for Lexi...well you can probably guess what they did to her" he turned his head to the side and spat.

"How long had you been in?" Preston asked softly.

"Three months, this was our first raid, the first time they even trusted us with a weapon, but Lexi and I were already talking about finding a way out during the battle when that Maniac in the power armor jumped off the roof and started lighting everyone up we took our chances when we didn't get shot in the back we figured we had his blessing to run.

"Her blessing," Preston said, gesturing to Nora, "Nora wouldn't shoot you in the back; she's everything a Minuteman should aspire to be."

Deeply touched by his words, Nora stepped forward to get a better look at them, "What brought you here?" she said, trying not to wince at their bruised and battered bodies.

"We were trying to Hunt in the hills around Sanctuary; we saw lights down here when the sun went down, we heard you trying to rebuild, you didn't seem like Raiders," He looked to her and then back to Preston, "Would you be willing to take us in?"

After a quick conference between the three of them, the two ex Raiders were allowed to stay in an empty house that at least had beds. They would get a meal and a chance to get clean while remaining under Codsworths constant supervision. It was a proposition the two gratefully accepted.

That night they all gathered around the table to discuss the matter.

"Not gonna lie," Sturges began. "We need the extra hands right now Boss, the two of them could make a big difference around here. If I half train one of them, we could have four or five turrets up and running a couple of days."

"And having someone else to help with the crops would help, wouldn't it, Marcy?" Nora asked.

"It would, but does it need to be them? I mean, if no one's going to say it out loud, then I will. Sure they need us now, and they're desperate, but what about when they're well-fed? What about when they get their strength back? Who's to say they won't sell us out to their friends out in Corvega?"

"And what if they are looking for a fresh start?" Sturges countered, "This is Sanctuary Marcy. They need this place just as badly as we did when we showed up."

"If Nora hadn't shown up, they would have helped murder us!" Marcy fired back, her voice rising in volume.

"Ok...hang on, you're both right here," Preston stepped in. "We do need the extra hands around here. If Sanctuary is ever going to become more than it is, then we need outside help, But Marcy is right too. We let them in, and we're taking a big risk, so where do we go from here?"

Mama Murphy surprised them by speaking up from where she sat in the corner.

"Yesterday I dreamt you took in two starving wolves," she said to Preston. "If you treat them poorly, you're sure to get bit. If you take care of them, you'll be surprised by their loyalty. It can go either way."

"Everyone deserves a second chance," Jun said softly from where he sat. It was the first time Nora had heard him speak since Concord.

Nora felt Marcy tense up from where she sat next to her.

"You DON'T always get a second chance," she spat glaring daggers at Jun.

"Marcy, we can keep them under constant observation," Nora offered, trying to diffuse her anger, "We let them live in the house by the bridge. For now, Codsworth will supervise them unless they're working, you can work with Lexxi, and Sturges can work with the other one. They'll have to earn our trust, ok?" she said, looking into Marcy's eyes.

"Fine," Marcy said, glaring at Jun, "Two weeks, but if they stab us in the back, don't come crying to me." standing up and stormed out the door, Nora sighed softly watching her go, not entirely sure her outburst was about the two ex raiders.

((What happened between you two)) she thought to herself, looking at Jun.

"Two week trial period, under constant supervision," Preston agreed. "That seems fair. This is good!" he told them with a bright smile. "This is the birth of Sanctuary as a community! A place people can feel safe in coming to!"

When the meeting was finished, Nora had to resist the urge to go looking for Marcy. Comforting her and respecting her privacy was going to be a fine line to walk, Nora walked as far as the river looking over at the spot where she'd found Marcy the first time, but it was empty.

Heading home, Nora reluctantly decided that if Marcy needed to talk, she would come to her.

-Marcy-

She'd felt childish storming out of the house, but Jun seemed to have that effect on her, bringing all the anger inside of her boiling up with just a few words, not that the anger needed an excuse to boil.

Marcy hated how scared she was of everything. Once upon a time, she'd been a strong woman, but after Kyle's death and being chased across the length of the commonwealth by people howling for her blood, Marcy felt like she was on a hair-trigger.

She KNEW almost certainly that those two kids were looking for a second chance, that they would probably embrace life in Sanctuary. Still, even the tiniest bit of risk set her off, and then she became angry to cover it up. The only time she'd felt safe in recent memory had been...

That night Nora had held her.

Looking around, Marcy realized she was across the bridge to Sanctuary. She looked up at the Minuteman statue. With a heavy sigh, she sat down, leaning up against it, the small hateful part of her blamed the Minutemen for all the devastation that had come her way, but if they hadn't been there, Quincy would have burned even quicker.

She couldn't bring herself to hate Preston. No man in her entire life had ever fought so hard to keep her safe. He'd buried her son, for god's sake, Marcy wanted to thank him for that from the bottom of her heart, but there was so much anger she had to swallow down.

A soft "woof" caught her attention, and she turned to see Dogmeat bounding across the bridge, he saw her, and his tail began to wag. Coming over, he flopped down next to her, putting his head in her lap. Marcy snickered at his antics but felt safer for his presence.

"You're a good boy," she said, running her fingers through his fur.

Nora returned unbidden to her mind. Marcy frequently thought about their moment down by the river and Nora's offer to come to her when she was upset. She thought back over the last few days to all the casual touches of comfort Nora had given her, a squeeze of her shoulder, the gentle weight of her hand on her back as they walked, and of course, the feel of Nora's arms wrapping around her and holding her close.

Marcy couldn't remember the last time she'd allowed anyone to touch her so casually, let alone hold her, and why Nora of all people?

"Nora's good people, isn't she?" Marcy asked Dogmeat.

Raising his head from her lap, Dogmeat agreed with a gentle "Woof" before laying it back down again, his tail thumping on the ground as if to say, "Yes indeed, good people."

"She said I could go to her if I was upset," Marcy said as she pet the dog, "Do you think she'd let me in if I knocked on her door?" she asked.

Dogmeat chuffed and got to his feet. Stretching out slowly, he gently took her sleeve in his teeth and gave it a little tug.

"Only one way to find out, huh?" Marcy smiled, getting to her feet, "Probably should get going before we get attacked by Molerats or something."

Dogmeat shook his head and sneezed on her pant leg as if letting her know just what he thought of that idea. Marcy chuckled and allowed him to lead her back to her door.

\--

But her feet carried her past her door, and before she knew it, she was standing on Nora's doorstep Before she could stop herself, she opened the door and walked in.

She walked through the living room and down a hall, the door to the bedroom was open, and Marcy peered inside. Nora appeared to be asleep with her back to her. Marcy suddenly felt foolish standing there. Surely she wouldn't just greet her with open arms if Marcy woke her up.

"N-Nora?" she practically whispered.

To her surprise, Nora rolled over, that warm, gentle smile lighting up her face.

"Marcy, are you ok? I looked for you..."

"I'm...I'm not ok Nora, I was wondering if uh...well, you'd said if I was upset, I could come to you and..."

Nora pulled back the covers and patted the spot in the bed next to her. Marcy caught a brief flash of the bare smooth skin of her legs before she glanced back up at Nora's face. She paused long enough to take her boots off before climbing into the bed.

Nora pulled the warm covers around her and opened up her arms. Marcy went willingly into them, pressing her face against Nora's neck.

"I'm so damn angry, Nora," Marcy shuddered as tears slid down her cheeks. "Angry at the world."

Nora pulled her closer to her body and began to run her fingers through her hair, "I"m here for you, Marcy, whatever you need, ok?"

God help her. Marcy didn't know what she needed at that moment, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that in Nora's arms was precisely where she wanted to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the support you've been showing my story, it makes my day!


	13. Comfort and Kindness

-Marcy-

Marcy woke after one of the most perfect and dreamless nights of her life, head tucked under Nora's. Their bodies pressed tightly together. She felt one of her hands slipped under Nora pressed to the woman's back, while her other hand was...

Wrapped rather possessively around the curve of Nora's backside.

Marcy's eyes snapped open, and she pulled back, half expecting Nora to be awake and looking down at her with disapproval, but thankfully she was sleeping peacefully, a small smile on her face.

Blushing crimson, Marcy removed her hand slowly and carefully from Nora's backside and to a more acceptable position on her hip.

A few minutes later, Nora came awake. Marcy watched her green eyes look around the room and then focus on Marcy and smile brightly.

"Morning, Marcy," she yawned. "You sleep, ok?"

"I slept well." Marcy said softly, "Thank you."

"Any time you need me, I'm here, Marcy," Nora replied, pulling her arms back and stretching. "I'm never going to pry in your life Marcy, but it seems like you need to talk about Jun if you want to get that off your chest. You know I'm here for you, right?"

Marcy felt herself tense up, her first instinct was to tell Nora to mind her business, but she bit back the retort.

"I"m not...ready to talk about it yet, Nora," she said, sliding out of bed and sitting on the edge while she worked her boots back onto her feet, truth be told, she felt embarrassed and vulnerable now that the sun was up, coming under cover of night and slipping into Nora's arms had been all too easy, but now Marcy felt like she needed to leave lest she be a burden.

Nora moved, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. As if sensing her embarrassment, she changed the subject.

"After breakfast, would you come with me to talk to Lexxi?" Nora's thoughts had kept returning to the young woman in the night. "If what her friend said is true then, she hasn't been treated kindly. I feel like she may be more comfortable around us."

Visiting the Raiders hadn't been on the top of Marcy's to-do list, but she didn't want to tell Nora no. She was still wary of them.

((Are you that terrified of a malnourished little girl sticking a knife in you?)) she asked herself.

"I just...I want her to know that whatever was "Expected of her" at the raider camp won't be expected of her here." Nora said, mistaking Marcy's silence for needing further convincing.

"I'll go with you, Nora. I'll meet you down there, ok?" Marcy said, getting up from the bed and heading to the door.

"Marcy?" Nora's voice stopped her before she could escape.

"Yes?" she asked, trying to keep the tension out of her voice.

"I meant what I said last night? Any time you need me, my door is open."

Marcy nodded her head quickly, then hurried out of the room.

-Nora-

Nora sighed as she heard the front door open and close. Marcy had been so anxious to leave. She doubted there'd be a repeat of the previous night.

((Was I too forward?)) she thought to herself as she went about washing up and getting dressed.

She'd wanted nothing more than to comfort Marcy when she put her arms around the woman, but sometime later, she'd woken up in the night and felt Marcy's arms wrapped tightly around her, and in that instant, the simple act of being held by someone had soothed an ache in her heart.

And of course, it would. No one had held her since Nate.

"God, I miss you..." Nora bowed her head, tears threatening to fall. Just the briefest thought of him was like a stab to the heart. Keeping busy helped her to avoid stepping on any emotional landmines, but once in a while, something would remind her of him, and she found herself reeling.

Not very hungry, Nora settled for a few ripe Mutfruit left in a bowl on the counter and a can of purified water. When she was finished, she headed out the door.

\--

They found the young man up and eating breakfast when they arrived, Codsworth hovering around him and seeing to his needs. He looked up as Nora and Marcy entered the room. Nora could see a flicker of tension on his face before it turned into a nervous smile. He got to his feet and waited for her to speak.

"It's ok. Keep eating," Nora told him as she sat down at the table.

"Good morning mum, Mister Marcus is just about finished with breakfast, though Miss Lexxi has yet to come out of her room this morning, slept in the poor thing," Codsworth said merrily.

"Thank you, Codsworth," Nora smiled, then turning her attention to the young man she offered him her hand, "Marcus is it? I'm Nora, and this is Marcy. We wanted to welcome you to Sanctuary officially. Are you settling in, ok?"

Marcus finished the last of his breakfast and pushed the plate back.

"I expected a floor to sleep on, but I spent last night in a bed with a blanket and a pillow after eating a hot meal, I'm hoping this is kindness, and you're not trying to fatten me up to sell me to a slaver or something."

Nora was taken back by the response but did her best to keep it off her face, "No one is going to sell you or Lexxi, I promise you," she reassured him, "As far as what we're going to do with you, Sturges our Mechanic has about a hundred different projects he's working on, we're trying to get Sanctuary back up and running, do you think you'd like to lend him a hand?"

"Really? I mean, yeah, I can do that, I'm not really what you'd call a mechanic, but I can learn," Marcus said, looking up at them hopefully. "That's really what you have planned for me?"

"It is," Nora offered him a smile, "You're not going to be a slave here Marcus, it's true we're going to have you under observation for a while, but no one is going to abuse you or make you do anything you don't want to do, we're trying to build a community here in Sanctuary."

"So you...really just...want our help?" Marcus asked her, "Ok yeah, yeah! I can get behind that," he smiled brightly, "When can I start?"

After Marcus had left with Codsworth, Nora knocked lightly on Lexxi's door.

"Come in..." they heard Lexxi's voice faintly from the other side.

Lexxi greeted them as they came in, approaching tentatively; she looked them up and down, swallowing hard she reached for the shirt she was wearing and pulled it off over her head. She was wearing nothing underneath, and Nora grit her teeth at the sight of the young woman's body covered in fading bruises.

"I've...I've never been with a woman before." she said, moving forward to cup Marcy's cheek with her hand, 'But I can learn, just please be gentle, and if you have to hit me, please don't hit my face," she said leaning in to press a kiss to Marcy's lips.

Marcy stiffened and put her hands on Lexxi's shoulders to hold her at arm's length, "N-No," she said softly.

A flicker of hurt crossed Lexxi's face. She backed away, looking fearful, and Vulnerable. Nora's eyes prickled with tears as the woman approached her and tried to kiss her.

"Lexxi, honey, no," Nora said softly. "We're not here for that," Nora said. Lexxi made a choking noise then began to cry.

"S-So you want me to serve the men?" she asked as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"No, Lexxi!" Nora said, pulling the woman into an embrace. It was all she could do not to cry herself, she thought she'd been emotionally prepared for this, but as the woman sobbed on her shoulder, she felt a tear run down her cheek. "You don't have to "Serve" anyone, honey, ok?"

"Then w-what do you want from me?" Lexxi cried against her chest.

"Marcy, you think you could find a hairbrush?" Nora said softly. The young woman's hair was a mess of knots and tangles. She watched as Marcy turned and hurried out of the room. She looked as disturbed as Nora felt about the whole ordeal.

"Come sit with me," Nora said, leading her over to the bed. Once they sat down, she was able to coak Lexxi into raising her arms to help her put her shirt back on. "Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked the woman, "Your chest? Your ribs?"

"No," Lexxi shook her head. "They loved to beat you, but when anything broke, they'd use a Stimpak on you, can't have your toys getting broken, the bruises though? They liked those. Leaving a bruise meant someone had marked you."

"Jesus..." Nora said, "Lexxi Honey, that life is behind you now, ok?" Nora wanted to drive that point home for the young woman. "No one is going to abuse you here."

"What do you want me to do then?" Lexxi asked, looking up at her. Nora could see the woman wanted to believe her but wasn't quite there yet.

"Well, there's a lot to do here in Sanctuary," Nora explained, "We're trying to build this place into a settlement where people can feel safe. We're planting crops, Sturges is trying to get turrets up and running. Then he wants to start on a water purifier. We've got the scrap, we've got the space, but we need all the helping hands we can get."

Nora smiled as Marcy returned with a hairbrush. With Lexxi's blessing, she sat down and began to work on untangling the young woman's hair one knot at a time.

"Preston said he'll send down a tub tonight. Codsworth can heat some water, give you and Marcus a chance to have a bath." Nora didn't miss how Lexxi's eyes lit up at that suggestion.

"That would be heaven," Lexxi sighed, "You mentioned planting crops? Marcus and I both grew up in a farming settlement. I can put my hands to use there if you'll have me."

"I'll be happy to have help, Marcy told her softly. It took a good long while to untangle her hair, but once she did, Marcy was able to run the brush smoothly through Lexxi's hair, the young woman slowly relaxed, and soon she was leaning back against Marcy with her head on the woman's shoulder.

"Lexxi? Can I ask you something? Did you ever run into anyone named Olivia in the Raiders?" Nora asked her on a whim.

"Not a person..." Lexxi said sleepily, "It's a place...big metal dish in the ground." she sighed.

Nora's eyes lit up. "Station Olivia! of course! How could I forget? Nate and I would drive up to visit friends he had stationed there! Lexxi, you're a lifesaver!" she said, jumping up and kissing Lexxi's forehead. The young woman made a pleased sleepy sound and lay her head back on Marcy's shoulder. "I need to go tell Preston. Can you sit with her for a little while, Marcy?"

"Alright..." Marcy looked unsure as to what exactly she was supposed to do with the young woman falling asleep in her arms, but Nora had already hurried out of the room to find Preston.

\--

Nora was surprised to find Preston kneeling by the bridge examining a large military duffel bag.

"Preston? What is it?" she asked, moving to join him.

"It seems your Guardian Angel is still alive and well out there," Preston handed her a folded piece of paper with the name "Vault Suit" scrawled on it, kneeling; she examined the bag.

A bundle of Stimpaks, several bags of Radstag Jerky, an assortment of chems, and what looked like eight or nine bars of homemade soap filled the bag. Confused, Nora opened up the letter.

Vault Suit,

Glad you're feeling better. Please take care of Marcus and Lexxi. They're sweet kids who had no business trying to be Raiders.

I'll never forget the debt I owe you, expect more gifts in the future, and try not to tangle with any more Deathclaws, ok?

-Alex

Nora gave the note to Preston, who read it over himself.

"Sounds like you really made an impression on him," Preston stood up, shouldering the bag. "Still no idea who he is?"

"I don't know, Preston. Aside from you and the people here, I haven't met anyone else who would want to repay me for anything." Nora found herself grateful but confused. "He seems to know Lexxi and Marcus. I'll ask one of them when I get a chance."

"I saw you got Marcus working with Sturges. How did it go with Lexxi?" Preston asked as they fell into his patrol route up and down the streets of Sanctuary.

"I had to convince Marcus that we weren't going to sell him to slavers," Nora grit her teeth, "And then I had to convince Lexxi we weren't going to sexually abuse her. Jesus Preston, is this how people live here? That poor girl threw herself at us. She was desperate to please us so we wouldn't hurt her, s-she told me if I had to hit her to please not h-hit her face..." Nora felt herself quivering with anger.

"Not everyone lives that way..." Preston said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulders, "But it's how Raiders initiate their recruits, men and women are beaten and sexually abused until they're broken down to their most basic urges, makes them easier to control, then they're let loose on the commonwealth, and all they want is to make people suffer as they have."

Preston's response made her sick, but it instilled a more profound understanding as to just how badly the Commonwealth needed the Minutemen.

"There's a lot of bad here, but I promise you there's good as well, Nora. You'll see the good as we spread out through the Commonwealth, you'll see the change, and we'll bring the change. There's a harsh lesson to be learned with Lexxi and Marcus, but the next time you're staring at a raider through your crosshairs, and you're wondering if you have the right to pull the trigger, I want you to think of Lexxi."

Nora chewed over his words as they walked. She realized this was another lesson in Wasteland cruelty. If she wanted to get out there and find Shaun that she was going to have to learn painful lessons like this and to shoulder the emotional burden of them, the next time she was staring down a Raider, she would remember the bruises on Lexxis' body and the desperation in the young woman's eyes. Then by god, she would pull the trigger.


	14. Preparing for Olivia.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora prepares to attack Station Olivia, and Sturges offers Lucy Abernathy some serious Medical advice.

Things settled into a comfortable routine after the arrival of Marcus and Lexxi. Nora dedicated time every day to talking with them, helping them settle in. Marcus was a promising student. Sturges was pleased with his help, together they'd gotten Sanctuary's first turret up and running, and everyone felt safer for it. Lexxi was taken under Marcy's wing. The two worked diligently on the crops, easily doubling the size of the field.

Even things with Marcy settled into a routine, Nora had been pleased when Marcy's quiet nocturnal visits continued. It was at the point where Nora waited with anticipation to hear the sound of the front door opening quietly after the sun went down.

Holding someone, and being held, touch was important to Nora. Since she'd woken up in the Vault, she'd been starved for the intimate closeness of a body next to hers, and while she would gladly give anyone a hug if they needed it, there was something special about Marcy. The woman seemed to fit into her arms perfectly. She felt herself growing increasingly close to the woman and hoped Marcy felt the same.

Though things never became sexual between them, there was a level of intimacy to the situation that made Nora question whether she was, on some emotional level, cheating on Nate.

When she wasn't questioning her Morality, Nora was busy with Preston in planning their attack on Station Olivia, they both agreed that a Raider presence that close to Sanctuary needed to be dealt with, and Nora still hoped to recover Mary's locket for the Abernathy family.

Preston was helping to prepare her with an impromptu boot camp. This involved physical exercise to build up her endurance, push-ups, situps, jogging at ungodly hours of the morning, then again in the evening. Dogmeat happily joined her on her runs, pounding the pavement up and down the cracked streets of Sanctuary with tireless doggy energy, turning to bark at her if he thought she was going too slow.

Leaving the warm embrace of Marcy's arms every morning to get up and run in the cold morning air did not make for a happy Nora. It didn't help that Marcy watched from under the warm covers as Nora went through her morning exercises and then waved goodbye to her with a sleepy shit-eating grin while cuddling with "Nora's" Pillow. Life in the Commonwealth was truly cruel.

One aspect Nora did enjoy was target practice. Getting to know her Laser Musket under Preston's tutelage felt much like getting to know the ten-millimeter pistol with Nate, it was a complex puzzle, but she was thrilled to figure it out.

That day found her practicing shooting at tin cans, Nora could hit a raider at medium range with ease, but precision firing at a small target from long range was proving difficult.

"Damn it!" Nora cranked the Musket, her frustration growing after missing yet again. She felt eyes on her other than Preston's and looked over to see that Sturges and Marcus had taken a break and were leaning against the doorway watching her.

"Try "Hitting" the can!" Sturges called out to her. Nora flipped him the bird and focused on her shot.

"Relax," Preston said, "Take a deep breath, focus, breathe out, then fire."

Following his instruction, Nora exhaled and pulled the trigger. It was an impressive shot; she had to admit, missing, and going through the narrow space between two cans.

"Try aiming AT the cans!" Sturges taunted.

"Sturges! I will come over there and break my foot off in your ass!" Nora warned him.

"With your aim? I don't think so!" 

"You'll need to be able to make shots under pressure," Preston told her, "We'll just thank Sturges for providing a distraction" Preston's words were diplomatic. Still, Nora got the impression he was enjoying the show just as much as everyone else.

"I'll thank him later, with a rock," Nora grumbled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Marcy leaning up against the back of the yellow house watching her, arms folded, and was that a ghost of a smile on her face? And Lexxi peered over her shoulder, watching intently.

"Well, now everyone is watching, we should just sell tickets," Nora grumped, taking a deep breath she focused, clearing her mind she shut out all the noise around her and zeroed in on her target, raising the Musket she cranked it once and set it against her shoulder, at that moment everything seemed to slow down.

In one smooth motion, Nora cranked then fired, hitting the first can. Adjusting her aim, she knocked over the last two cans just as smoothly. Time seemed to resume its normal pace, and she felt a slight disorientation. 

"Suck it, Sturges!" she cried out in Victory. Marcy gave a quick nod of her head and turned back to her work. Lexxi smiled brightly and gave her a thumbs-up before following Marcy.

"Excellent! Better than I could have hoped for!" Preston said the pride in his voice touched Nora, "Now give me five laps!" he said.

Nora groaned as Preston took her Musket from her. After a few quick stretches, she began to run. Dogmeat darted out from between the houses and zoomed past her, happy that she was running again.

She'd completed her first lap when she heard the call of a Brahmin, she still found the sight of the two-headed cows unsettling, but she appreciated that the docile creatures were one thing that wasn't actively trying to murder her in the Commonwealth.

Blake Abernathy and his daughter Lucy were crossing the bridge, followed by their Brahmin, Dogmeat forgetting he was Nora's running buddy, began to bark happily, darting over to them, he threw himself down on the ground in front of them demanding belly-rubs.

Preston and Marcy greeted them as Nora ran back up the street. By the time she made another loop, they were in the center of town, Nora noticed Lucy looking around trying to appear casual, but Nora had a feeling she knew just who Lucy was looking for; catching the young woman's eye, she jerked her head towards Sturge's home and winked at her.

Lucy's face lit up briefly, and she gave Nora a subtle nod of thanks before "Wandering" over to the house, leaving her father to discuss business with Preston.

"Go get em, girl." Nora grinned to herself as Dogmeat zoomed by her again, barking at her to hurry up.

-Sturges-

Sturges was laid out underneath the belly of a mostly completed Water Purifier. With Marcus's help, he anticipated finishing the project a week earlier than he'd expected, then Sanctuary would finally have clean water to drink, no more boiling it to get all the rads out. Hearing footsteps, he called out.

"Marcus? Pass me that screwdriver, would ya?"

When no answer came, he slid out from under the Purifier and found himself looking into the eyes of Lucy Abernathy. She smiled down at him holding out the Screwdriver, Lordy, if she wasn't the prettiest little thing Sturges had ever seen.

"W-Well hi there," Sturges smiled up at her. "Thank you, Kindly," he said, taking the tool from her. Her fingers brushed his, and he felt himself blush.

"Need a hand under there?" Lucy asked him.

"Well, I uh...If you...that is....yeah, I'd be happy for the help." he stuttered.

"Ok! Just let me get a little more comfortable." Lucy said as she began to unbutton the flannel long-sleeved shirt, she was wearing, keeping eye contact with him as she undid each button. She winked at him, "Don't want to get it dirty, just washed it after all."

Sturges could have sworn she emphasized the word "Dirty" just for him.

Letting the shirt slide down her arms, she was lean but tough. She had the kind of muscle that came from a lifetime of fieldwork. Sturges observed that she wore a white tank top underneath. His powers of observation also told him that the tank top was at least a size too small for her and served to showcase two things that he definitely should not have been staring at.

((Oh lord above, please help me to remain a gentleman,)) he prayed as Lucy grabbed another screwdriver and slid underneath the Purifier with him. Not shy in the slightest, she slid so close their shoulders were touching.

"Y-You know your way around machines?" he asked her.

"Mom taught me everything I know. Generators back at the house are always breaking down," Lucy said as she went about tightening a screw. "You do all this yourself? It's really impressive."

"Well, thank you, I did a good chunk of it. Marcus helped with the rest, should be finished within the week," he told her.

"You must be pretty damn good if you can build a Turret and a water purifier from scratch," Lucy said as she worked.

"I try to fix what I can, too much broken in the wasteland. Back in Quincy, I had my own shop I..." Sturges regretted going down that path almost immediately. The memories were still too fresh.

She reached out then, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder, meeting his eyes with a kind look, "Thing about loss is...you have to go on living," Sturges knew her words were coming from a personal place.

Tentatively, Sturges put his hand over hers. He watched her eyes dart to their hands and then back to meet his gaze, looking for something? Waiting for something? He couldn't tell, "I'm sorry about your sister," he squeezed her hand before releasing it.

They returned to working in companionable silence. Sturges got the impression Lucy hadn't intended to let her guard down like that and was trying to recover. He nearly jumped and banged his head on the underside of the Purifier, however, when she pinched her finger and let out a curse.

"Cock SUCKER!" Lucy hissed, sticking her finger in her mouth.

Sturges struggled to keep his lips from twitching into a smile at the foul language coming out of the pretty little woman, "Here, let me see it," he took her hand, and she let him, observing him carefully.

He examined the pinched skin with a critical gaze "Hmmm looks pretty serious, Lucy," he said, meeting her gaze with a mock-serious tone.

"Oh, so you're a doctor now?" Lucy asked him with a raised eyebrow, "I thought you were a mechanic?"

"Sometimes a mechanic has to be his own doctor," Sturges said sagely as he looked over her finger and shook his head, "Yep, deadly serious, this finger may fall off, gonna have to do something about this," he released her hand to rummage around in his tool belt.

"Oh, Doctor, please don't keep me in suspense," Lucy said with mock fear in her voice. "Will I lose my finger?"

Cutting a piece of duct tape free from the roll-on, his belt Sturges wrapped it around her finger, "There! It was touch and go for a little while. If we hadn't saved the finger, the hand could have fallen off, and then the arm."

Lucy suppressed a giggle at his seriousness, "Well, I'm lucky you were here then, Doctor Sturges."

They slid out from under the Purifier. As they did, Sturges heard Blake Abernathy call out to her.

"Lucy? Time for us to be getting back home!"

Lucy grabbed her flannel shirt from the floor, dusting it off before sliding it back on, "Coming daddy!" she called out as she buttoned it back up, "So how much do I owe you "Doctor" Sturges?"

"Hmmm, I'd say two-thousand caps should cover it," he told her with a straight face.

Lucy laughed out loud and slapped his chest with her palm, then moving her palm over his heart she let it linger there for a long moment, feeling the steady rhythm in his chest, looking up at him she leaned in a little closer to his face, "Thank you for being a perfect gentleman to an underdressed young lady," she said "Perhaps you can stop by the farm again sometime? Maybe check on my finger?"

"I-It would be my duty as a doctor to follow up with my patient at least once," Sturges managed to choke out.

"Lucy?" Blake called out again.

Lucy stood up on her tiptoes and placed a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth, turning. She walked out the door. Sturges watched her go admiring the sway of her hips as she rounded the corner.

Turning back, he realized two things. One, Marcus had slipped out of the room at some point, and, two, he was grinning like an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From time to time, the story will branch off to other relationships. I want to develop many different couples throughout the course of the story. I hope you'll enjoy these excursions and not find them a distraction. And as always, thank you for your Kudos and hits. It makes me happy that you're happy with the story. It goes without saying that feedback is always welcome.


	15. Oliva Inbound.

It was the day before Nora and Preston were going to leave, and she was helping Marcus and Lexxi move into one of the abandoned homes closer to the center of the neighborhood. Their contributions over the last few weeks had won over the tiny population of Sanctuary. Even Marcy no longer seemed to have any objections to welcoming them officially.

"I'm so proud of you two," Nora hugged Lexxi, "I can't imagine Sanctuary now without you two in it. We've come so far in these last two weeks because of your help." she smiled as the two basked in her praise.

"We won't let you down," Marcus promised her as Lexxi hugged her back. Nora noticed the young woman was putting on weight again. The anguish in her eyes had been replaced with a bright sparkle. She'd woke up every day and threw herself into her work with Marcy and was beginning to develop the muscle to show for it.

"Alright, I'll let you two get settled in, but do you mind if I ask you a question before I go?" Nora pulled the letter from "Alex" out of her pocket and showed it to them, "Do you know who this is? Because he seems to know who you are, and he seems to know me."

Lexxi looked over the note and squealed excitedly, "Alex!" she said, giving the letter to Marcus, "He's alive!" Marcus took the note and read it over before handing it back to Nora.

"Alex, didn't think he was still alive. He went into the museum with the first wave. The guy was probably the only decent example of a human being in Gristle's entire crew." Marcus passed the letter back to her

"You both seem to think well of him. What did he do?" Nora asked, her curiosity now piqued.

"He was our Medic, refused to carry a gun, he could do all sorts of things that the raiders really didn't give a shit about, Alex made chems for Gristle and patched up anyone who was wounded, but he could cook, he made homemade soap, he talked to me more than once, helped calm me down after a bad day." Marcus sighed.

Lexxi spoke up as well, " He talked to me too, he offered to help us escape, told us he'd hide supplies for us to take when we left but...as bad as it was for us there, we didn't know where else to go, I just don't know how he survived, every raider in the museum died right?"

And just like that, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place in Nora's mind. She smiled and shook her head, "No, not everyone died. There was a young man, unarmed, he asked me to spare him, I was terrified he'd stick a knife in my back, but I let him go in the end."

Marcus didn't seem to believe her, "You were scared?" he asked her, "You didn't seem scared when you jumped off that roof in full power armor. You were laughing when you hit the ground."

"I was laughing because I'd just jumped off a frigging roof and lived Marcus," Nora smiled at him. "Truth was I was afraid the whole time, but I had people I needed to save. After the fighting was over, I crawled out of my armor. Battered, bruised, and shaking, I made my way into the church. I was pretty emotional at the time." 

Nora chuckled. "I remember yelling at God in his house before I started to pass out, but just before I blacked out, I heard a voice and felt someone stick something into my arm. When I woke up, I felt better. I'd been covered up with a blanket, I always wondered, but I never thought it was the Raider I'd let go." she smiled to herself.

"Nora?" Lexxi touched her arm. "If Alex is out there somewhere..."

"Then, we'll find him and bring him home, I promise." Nora squeezed Lexxi's hand, "Preston, and I will keep our eyes peeled for him while we're out tomorrow, ok?"

They talked for a little while longer until Nora excused herself. Her stomach was full of butterflies over heading out tomorrow. She was as ready as she was going to get. All that remained was to put Preston's teachings and her courage to the test. Wanting to take her mind off things, she decided to do a few laps around Sanctuary.

\--

She was sitting in bed reading a book by lantern light when she heard the front door open and close. Nora smiled, looking towards the door as Marcy entered a moment later. The sight of Marcy slipping through the bedroom door was such a comfort to her now, she set the book down and pulled back the covers.

Marcy slid out of her boots, and then after a moment of thought, she took her pants off as well. Nora looked at those lean muscled legs and then blushed as Marcy crawled into bed with her.

Leaning in close, Marcy brushed a bit of hair from Nora's face and cupped her cheek. Nora's heartbeat picked up almost immediately.

((Is she going to kiss me?)) Nora froze, watching Marcys face as she struggled with something.

"Nora I...look....you mean...I....god damn it," Marcy shook her head, disgusted with herself.

"M-Marcy?" Nora whispered, instinctually she leaned into the touch of Marcy's hand on her cheek

Marcy leaned in closer. Nora was sure she was going to kiss her, heart thumping in anticipation, she closed her eyes, her body almost of its own will wanting the kiss.

And then felt Marcy place a kiss on her forehead.

"C-Come back safe, Nora...please." she heard Marcy whisper against her forehead. 

"I'll come back in one piece, I promise," she reassured Marcy. She sighed as Marcy ran her fingers through her hair. When Marcy's bare legs brushed against her's, Nora felt her breath catch in her throat. She wanted those legs intertwined with her own as Marcy continued to stroke her hair.

Nora had never been with a woman before she met Nate. She'd never felt the inclination to go down that road in College, even though the campus had been rife with that kind of experimentation, so she had no answer as to why her body reacted this way to Marcy's closeness and was further confused by the desire for more.

Marcy made no advances, crossed no lines that Nora hadn't allowed her to cross, but this was as intimate as the two of them had ever been. Marcy had never reached out and touched her like this.

((It's nerves about tomorrow)) she told herself ((She's comforting me the way I comfort her, I'm not attracted to her, I'm reading too much into this.))

But if that was true, why was there a small part of her who wished Marcy had kissed her lips?

Swallowing hard and taking a deep breath, she let it out, focused on the feeling of Marcy running her fingers through her hair. Slowly any stress melted away, and she felt her eyes growing heavy. Tucking her head under Marcy's chin, Nora breathed in the scent of the woman and surrendered to sleep.

-Marcy-

There was an ugly little voice in the back of Marcy's mind.

It hated how far she'd come in the last two months. It hated that she was finding her voice after floating alone for so long in a sea of anguish. It hated every positive thing that was happening to her and took every opportunity to diminish her.

Marcy knew it was no malicious entity, but her guilt and anger trying to get the best of her now that she'd had a taste of hope, Now that she was starting to feel like she was worth something.

((She's not coming back, you know that, right?))

Marcy leaned up against the wall, watching Nora leave with Preston, the woman looked nervous but determined, and Marcy was more than a little surprised to find that a small part of her wanted to be out there with Nora.

((They're going to die out there, then the commonwealth is going to finish what it started with you,))

Closing her eyes in an effort to remain calm, she took a deep breath and thought back to the previous night. It had taken a lot of courage to get into bed with Nora in just a shirt and panties, after what Alice had done, after what Jun had done, the thought of baring any skin to anyone left Marcy vulnerable and fearing rejection, after all her body was nothing compared to Nora's soft pre-war figure.

But rather than rejection, she caught Nora sneaking several glances at her as she climbed into bed. It made her feel brave, brave enough to be the one to reach out and do the touching, brave enough to be the one doing the comforting. Nora's skin had felt so soft and warm under her fingers.

She could tell Nora had been surprised by her boldness, and when Marcy had leaned in with the intent of kissing Nora, she'd seen the woman's eyes go wide and then close in anticipation or Marcy's lips on hers, and then Marcy had chickened out and kissed her on the forehead, stuttering out for Nora to please come home safe, when she wanted to tell her so much more, horribly embarrassed by her own ineptitude she'd been surprised when Nora had tucked her head under Marcy's chin and fallen asleep.

((She doesn't want you, no one that beautiful would want anything to do with you.))

Gritting her teeth, Marcy watched Nora walk out of sight.

"I wanted to tell you," she said in a barely audible voice, "I wanted to tell you that you mean the world to me. I want to be there for you the way you've been there for me, so please come back safe because...I'm not sure yet, but I think I'm falling for you."

Important words were so much easier to say when there was no one there to hear them.

-Nora-

Nora watched Preston as they moved across the terrain. He covered it quickly, looking around seemingly alert to every noise, head moving back and forth to take in anything and everything. At one point, he stopped her with a hand to the shoulder, crouching down on one knee and cranking his rifle. She heard the growl of a dog only briefly as he fired, then the brief yelp as it fell dead to the ground.

"Mongrel dogs, they tend to travel in packs," he told her as he got back to his feet. "Though that one was alone."

"How did you even know it was there?" Nora asked, thoroughly amazed by his reflexes.

"You have to be alert. There are a hundred different dangers out here. Give yourself time, and I promise you, you'll learn how to recognize them," Preston's reassuring voice was a comfort to Nora.

"Got it, constantly alert, looking for trouble, avoiding getting shot, just like driving in downtown Boston during rush hour traffic," Nora said as they walked by the smoldering body of the now-dead dog.

"Driving?" Preston cocked his head to the side. "That's right, those rusting wrecks on the roads, you used to drive them, didn't you? What was that like?"

Nora mimicked Preston's movements, keeping her rifle ready to bring up to her shoulder. She kept her head "On a swivel," as Nate used to call it. She couldn't see anything dangerous, but chances were right; there was "something" out there that wanted them both dead.

"Well, it beat the hell out of walking," Preston laughed as she winked at him, "To be honest, it was wonderful Preston, you could go anywhere you wanted at a moments notice. It made everything so much simpler," she frowned, "I guess in the end that was our damn problem, things got too easy, we got too lazy."

Preston was about to say something when they both heard voices coming from up ahead.

"So they're just sitting there helpless in Sanctuary?" a man's voice asked.

"That's what Ack-Ack heard, a bunch of half-dead survivors from Quincy and probably the last fucking Minuteman in the Commonwealth, oh, and you'll never guess who else I saw when I got close enough yesterday....fucking Marcus and Lexxi from Gristles crew." another man's voice answered.

"Lexxi? Oh man, I heard about her. Gristle got bored with her and passed her around his camp. Apparently, if you hit her enough, she starts crying." both men laughed at that.

Nora hissed through clenched teeth, digging her nails into her palm.

"Fuck I love it when they cry," that made them laugh all the harder.

Nora angrily cranked her musket, feeling it hum with energy, but Preston stopped her before she could raise it to the firing position.

"Not yet," Preston gently pushed her rifle back towards the ground, "First, we find out how many, then we plan our shots. If you get angry, you could get hurt."

Peering out from behind cover, they counted three Raiders and a dog. The talkers were closer, leaning up against a rock totally oblivious to Nora and Preston's presence. The other Raider was preparing something by the fire. The dog appeared to be asleep.

"The two by the rocks first," Preston gestured, "Then take the one by the fire, I'll take the dog." he cranked his musket, and Nora Raised her own, counting back from three on his fingers. Preston nodded his head.

Sighting the Raider closest to her, Nora waited till Preston lined up his shot, then she fired, Preston's Musket echoed a moment later, and the two laughing raiders collapsed to the ground.

Nora was already cranking her musket again and taking aim at the Raider by the fire, the discharge of the muskets had drawn his attention as well as the dogs, but they were cut down as they got to their feet.

Preston held up a finger to his lips, and they waited for any cries of alarm or footsteps coming their way. When it remained quiet, he relaxed, seeing him let his guard down, Nora lets hers down as well.

"I'm proud of you, Nora, that couldn't have gone better. You don't always get the advantage of surprise out here, so when you do, you have to capitalize on it." 

"It wouldn't have gone so smoothly if you hadn't stopped me. I let my emotions get the best of me." Nora sighed apologetically.

"Consider it a lesson learned Nora," They went about looting the corpses. It churned Nora's stomach to take things from the dead, but she knew that was a Pre-war habit she was going to have to break. She found more ammo for her Pistol, and with Preston's encouragement, she relieved the raiders of all the leather armor they wore and strapped it on over her Vault suit, grateful for the added protection.

Once they'd scavenged everything useful, they moved away from the camp, feeling relieved there was no longer a raider presence so close by. Nora felt her anxiety displaced by a sense of caution and awareness. With Preston at her side, she felt safe enough to face whatever might come their way.

With the constant gnawing worry pushed to the background, Nora wondered how Marcy was getting along. She hadn't been there when Nora had woken up. Nora had felt a vague sense of disappointment at how easy the woman slipped away in the morning. Her mind was filled with questions about the previous night, chiefly among them had been Nora's response to Marcy's closeness and the kiss. She still wondered at the small part of her that wanted the kiss to be something more intimate.

Was kissing Marcy a betrayal to Nate? She'd never imagined there would be another person in her life to give her any kind of intimacy after her husband, her heart ached when she brought up cherished memories they'd shared, but that same heart had hammered in her chest when she'd thought Marcy was going to kiss her, the fact she'd also responded to strongly to another woman also got confused her.

Maybe she could go to Mama Murphy? Preston quite often took Council from the woman. She'd seen Lexxi going into the woman's house and coming out looking relieved. Nora hadn't had the opportunity to talk with Mama more than a few times since they'd settled in Sanctuary. She wasn't convinced that the woman had "The sight," but what would it hurt to find out?

Committed to the idea now, Nora vowed she'd find out what "The Sight" had in store for her.


	16. Ack-Ack is one crazy Bitch!

Station Olivia loomed in the distance.

Pre-War, the station had seemed to Nora a proud example of what America could accomplish with its technology. She'd often come with Nate to visit old friends from his unit that were stationed there, holding onto his arm with pride and laughing as his friends good-naturedly ragged on him for making Nora "Settle" for someone so out of his league.

Now Station Olivia inspired no laughter, reaching out of the earth like a giant metal skeleton. It was the wreckage of a Nation that, for all its posturing and Military might, had fallen just as quickly as the rest of the world under the onslaught of Nuclear Armageddon.

"Nora? Tell me what you see." Preston requested softly from where he crouched next to her. He was slowly teaching her situational awareness, observing the area around her and telling him her thoughts.

"One man up top, one dog on the platform over there, probably more, but it's all I can see from here," Nora answered.

"You said you used to come here before the bombs fell. Anything you can tell me about the inside?"

Nora shook her head, "No, most of it is underground, Nate didn't have the clearance to go inside, and I was just a civilian."

"Alright, well, we've got good cover out here. Why don't we deal with those two and see if it brings anyone running? They're not expecting trouble, so I don't think there'll be too much resistance here outside. Think you can take the one up top?"

It was a longshot, but Nora was up for the challenge, cranking her Musket and waiting for the pleasant hum of energy she lined up her shot and focused. The raider remained stationary, leaning over the rail, either bored or asleep, taking a deep breath Nora Exhaled slowly and then squeezed the trigger.

The sound of discharging energy made the man's head snap up. A second later, it didn't matter as he spun from the force of the impact and hit the ground. Another discharge of energy and a yelp told her that Preston had taken his target.

They waited two minutes for any reinforcements before making their way through a hole in the perimeter fence, a bunker with an open door and a window beckoned them to enter, but as they got closer, a Raider jumped up from where he'd been taking cover and fired, Preston, grunted taking the round to the chest and went down.

'PRESTON!" Nora cried out, dropping her Musket; she grabbed her Pistol and, without much trigger discipline, emptied the clip into the window, the blood splatter on the wall telling her she hit her target. She was so panicked that she continued to pull the trigger after the gun clicked empty.

Dropping the Pistol to the ground, she turned with shaking hands to Preston, "Preston! tell me you're ok!" she gripped his shoulders, tears filling her vision. Why had she thought she could come out here and play soldier with him? He was going to die out here, and it was her fault!

"Nora...." Preston coughed. "S'ok....he pulled his jacket back from where he'd been shot to show her the armor he wore underneath had taken the brunt of the damage, "T-This is why we wear armor," he told her as he got his feet with a wince, "It'll leave a nasty bruise, but I prefer those to bullet holes," he joked.

Nora threw her arms around him, "God Preston, I thought you were...." she couldn't finish the sentence, "I...I don't know if I can do this!" she cried against his chest. "I thought I'd lost you, and I just panicked!"

She felt Preston's arms wrap around her, pulling her deep into a comforting embrace, "You're doing just fine, Nora," his voice was soft in her ear. "This is your first mission; you're learning as you go, look new rule, ok? If I get hit again, I'll let you know I'm alright, or if I need medical attention, ok? and you do the same if I call out to you, deal?"

It took a few minutes for Nora to relax her grip on Preston. Letting him go, she stepped back and took a deep breath wiping at her eyes. "Ok, sorry for the panic attack. Adult Nora is back now," she smiled up at him.

"No apologies necessary," he told her kindly, "And I meant what I said, Nora, you're doing a great job for your first time out. You can do this."

Eyes dry and feeling slightly embarrassed by her outburst, Nora squeezed his hand, reloading her Pistol and picking her Musket up from the ground. She performed a quick weapon check and then nodded that she was ready to continue.

\--

Inside, Olivia was all you could ask of a Military base, full of walkways, computers, and corners to peer around strategically. Nora noticed a trip wire at the bottom of the stairs, saving them both from a nasty fate, earning her quiet praise from Preston in the form of a smile and a thumbs-up. Working together, they cleared the top floor of enemies quietly and made their way downstairs. Pressed up against a wall, they listened to the sounds of conversation coming from deeper inside.

"Ack, what the fuck are you gonna do with all those Radroaches?" 

A woman giggled in response. There was a tinge of insanity to it, "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Yeah, I do want to know. Why the hell are you collecting fucking roaches Ack?"

"Next shipment that comes in? Gonna get some Jet, Gonna get some Buffout, gonna conduct me a little experiment." Ack Ack giggled manically.

"You're gonna get those roaches high on chems? Why?" the raider responded in disbelief.

"Why not? Might help beef up security around here!" more laughter. "Just like strapping those Mines to that Mole rat! You can't tell me that didn't work!"

"It did work! On our OWN guy!"

"But the explosion was fucking AWESOME! It was like a crazy little mine with LEGS! BOOM!" Ack Ack giggled again, sending a shiver down Nora's spine.

"Awesome? Tell that to the pieces of Charlie we're STILL finding in the woods!"

"Ya know what? I'm gettin Bored with this talkin. Why don't you go check in with the guys topside before I smack the bitch outta you! Tryin to spoil my fun....fuck you think you are? My mom?" Nora could practically hear the pout in the woman's voice.

"Alright, alright, Jesus!" They heard the raider grumbling as he approached them, passing right by their hiding spot. As he walked by, Preston brought the butt of his Musket, slamming down into the back of the man's head with an audible "Crack" the man fell unmoving to the ground.

Slipping into a supply room, they headed for the nearest doorway. Preston held up a hand, and Nora halted. Peering around the corner, he held up three fingers, coming back to her. He rummaged around in his pack producing two grenades. He mimed, pulling the pin and then counting to three and throwing. Nora took the explosive and nodded the affirmative.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Nora pulled the pin on her grenade before counting to three and throwing it around the corner.

"Hey, what the fu..." twin explosions that made the room rattle cut off whatever the raider was going to say next, screams filled Nora's ears then tapered off to groans, and then silence.

They waited one minute, then two before standing up. Nora breathed a sigh of relief as she turned to Preston, "What a crazy bitch!" she exclaimed in disbelief as they turned the corner into the room. Nora put a hand to her mouth to keep from vomiting at the blood splatter and chunks of raiders that now decorated the room.

"It's grim, I know, but I think we can count this a win," Preston said. He opened his mouth to say something else, then cocked his head to the side, listening to something.

Nora heard it too, a sound of whirring, growing faster by the second. She looked at Preston and watched a look of horrified recognition dawn on his face.

"NORA! DOWN!" grabbing her, he hurled them both back into the computer room just as a hail of lead ripped over their heads.

"YOU SNEAKY FUCKING MOLE RATS!" Ack Ack screeched, stepping around the corner, "Who do you think you are! Coming into MY home and blowing up MY MEAT SHIELDS!"

Nora hit the dirt and crawled desperately to cover behind a computer terminal, bullets pounding the ground around her and missing by mere inches, throwing her back up against cover, she jumped in surprise as Preston landed next to her in a heap, incredibly his hat still on his head.

Nora made a mental note to try and figure out just what kind of black magic kept his hat on his head if they survived this. Feeling torn between puking and laughing thanks to a massive Adrenaline rush, she grinned at Preston.

"Hey, so, crazy I know, but I think Ack Ack is still alive..."

"WHERE ARE YOU? YOU DIRTY LITTLE MOLE RATS!"

"I admire your situational awareness, And I am forced to agree with your assessment," Preston wore a crazy little grin of his own.

"I'M GOING TO CUT YOUR LITTLE LEGS OFF AND FEED YOU TO MY JET ROACHES!" Ack Ack shrieked again, punctuating her words with a storm of lead that battered their cover. "IT'S GONNA BE AWESOME!"

"Any ideas?" Nora asked. I really don't want to meet a Jet Roach Preston."

Preston's eyes darted around the room. Nora could see the gears turning in his mind. After a moment, he nodded. "Ok! She's going to run out of ammo in a minute. When she goes to reload, I'm going to draw her attention," he said, grabbing his sidearm from his belt. While I have her attention, you hit that doorway over there, flank around and get behind her, then put her down."

Before Nora could respond, they heard the sound of the Minigun running dry. The silence was almost deafening. Preston grabbed her hand, "You got this, Nora, now GO!" leaning out from behind cover, he fired off a few shots, Nora took off like a bat out of hell, throwing herself towards the doorway.

WHAT? YOU SHITTY MOLE RAT! WHO GAVE YOU A GUN?? HOW ARE YOU SHOOTING A GUN AT ME??"

"Oh my god, she never stops!" Nora bitched, moving in a low crouch, darting around a corner, and then another. She heard Preston fire, and then Ack Ack cry out triumphantly as she reloaded her Minigun.

(Don't turn around, don't turn around!) Nora prayed as she slipped up behind Ack Ack, gripping her Pistol.

"What's wrong now, you dirty little mole rat! Drop yer gun? Huh? Huh? Shoot me now! SHOOT ME NOW!" Ack Ack howled as she pinned Preston down behind his cover.

Nora stood, bringing her Pistol up and pressing it to the back of Ack Ack's head. "If you insist!" she growled as she pulled the trigger blowing the woman's chem-soaked brains out of her skull.

The Adrenaline suddenly left her body in a rush. She slumped down behind the wall with a tired groan, "Preston? Please tell me you're ok?" she called out.

"I"m ok!" Preston answered a moment later, "I may or may not need a new pair of pants. I'll get back to you!" he appeared a moment later and looked down at her, "You ok?" he asked, slumping down next to her.

"I'm in one piece, just don't feel like moving right now," Nora leaned her head on Preston's shoulder, utterly exhausted. She smiled as she felt Preston lean his head on the top of hers. They sat that way enjoying the silence, Nora grateful beyond belief that Preston and the rest of the residents of Sanctuary had stumbled into her life. She resolved that she would do her best to protect them no matter how many crazy bitches with Miniguns she had to put down.

-Marcy-

As the sun went down, Marcy let herself into Nora's home. She knew she wouldn't find Nora smiling up at her from the bed, covers pulled back and arms waiting to embrace her, but Marcy wanted to be as close to Nora as she could, and even though the bed was empty, it would at least have Nora's scent.

"Miss Marcy?"

Marcy jumped as Codsworth turned from his spot in the kitchen. Of course, he'd be home now, no longer needing to supervise Marcus and Lexxi. He'd return to his original duties.

"Oh! s-sorry I'll go..." Marcy said, turning to leave.

"You're worried for Miss Nora as well?" Codsworths question stopped her in her tracks, turning slowly; she nodded her head. "Have you eaten dinner, Miss Marcy?"

"Uh, no...I wasn't too hungry tonight." Marcy shrugged.

"Then come! Pull up a seat. I'll be happy to prepare a meal for you!" Codsworth said, "Afterwards, I'm certain Miss Nora would not be opposed to you spending the night here."

Startled, Marcy sat down. Was she so obvious that the robot could read her? She watched him move around the kitchen, Preparing some Mac and cheese and heating a chunk of Radstag meat for her.

"Codsworth?" she asked tentatively, "What was Nora like? You know...before?"

"Before the bombs? Miss Nora was absolutely devoted to her husband, and her job, she was devoted to life." Codsworth spoke with great fondness. 

"She was close to him?" Marcy asked

"With Mister Nate? Most certainly, I've never seen a couple more perfect for each other than Miss Nora and Sir. They had an unconventional relationship in many ways." Codsworth reminisced as he put the food down in front of Marcy. She hadn't intended to eat, but when the smells of the food reached her nose, her stomach rumbled, and she began to eat hungrily.

"Unconventional? How?" she asked.

"It was a different time before the bombs. It was largely expected of a woman to serve her husband first and place her own needs second, the man was the provider, and the woman kept the house clean. Still, Mum and Sir, they were equals, partners, they did everything together, except for when he went off to fight in the war, then it was me helping mum with the cleaning." Codsworth said proudly, "Miss Nora, she studied day and night to get her law degree. She was going to help people, you see, make sure they received fair treatment in the court of law."

Marcy listened intently as she ate her dinner. The Nora Codsworth was describing sounded very much like the one she knew now. "Did she have a lot of friends? I imagine she must have been popular." 

"No, mum didn't have many friends at all, she was busy with her law degree, and when sir was home they were inseparable, she got along fine with his friends from the army, you would have thought she was a soldier herself they way she would drink with all of them and carry on" Codsworth chuckled, "But the only friend I can ever remember her having was the Detective, when Sir was away he would come by and check in on her regularly....there was no infidelity mind you! just friends keeping each other company, Sir was very fond of him as well."

Stomach full of food, Marcy stifled a yawn. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so full.

"I"m glad she had a friend back then. I hope in time she'll find people to care for her just like the Detective did." Marcy sighed.

"I daresay Miss Marcy that she considers you an important person in her life, just like she did the Detective," Codsworth said as he went about cleaning the dishes.

"W-What makes you say that Codsworth?"

"Well, before she left, mum asked me to extend the hospitality of the house to you if you came by to visit. She also said that in the event, she was unable to return that I was to look after you and protect you with my life."

"O-Oh..." Marcy sighed softly, feeling her eyes grow wet, "Thank you, Codsworth, T-Though I'm sure she'll be back tomorrow, and we'll both feel silly for worrying." she said as she stood up and yawned.

"I share your optimism, Miss Marcy! please make yourself at home, and if you need me or desire to talk, just call out."

"Thank you, Codsworth, and thank you for dinner," Marcy said as she headed to the bedroom, gazing down at the empty bed. She wiped at her eyes, deeply touched by Nora's gesture, picking up a discarded shirt from the floor she breathed in Nora's scent, stripping down Marcy pulled the shirt on over her head and climbed into bed, grabbing Nora's pillow she held it tight to her chest and pulled the covers up around her, despite her worry she fell asleep quickly, surrounded by the warmth of a woman who had placed herself so profoundly in Marcy's heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always did wonder what Ack-Ack's plan was for those frigging roaches in the boiler room. I like to think that she was batshit crazy and was going to get them high on chems and train them to attack people. I imagine it was her that rigged that mole rat to blow up too, (Seriously fuck that molerat, it's killed me so many times!) I had fun writing her while her brief crazy flame lasted.


	17. Matters of the Heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I took some liberties with Mama Murphy's past in this one, seems like the woman we see in the game has lived the kind of life that could be a full game in itself, Hopefully, no one is triggered by my interpretation of her life.

When she felt up to standing without falling over again, Nora and Preston searched Olivia for Mary's locket. They'd turned the entire bottom floor upside down until Nora found it thrown into a red toolbox. Taking it reverently in her hands, she turned to show Preston.

"Mission accomplished," he told her with a smile.

With the locket slipped safely into her pocket, they went about looting what they could. Curiosity got the best of both of them. Nora picked the lock on the boiler room door (Another trick Sturges had taught her) the purged the room of Radroached (None under the influence of chems, thankfully) and found a key marked "Intel room," taking what they could stuff into their packs they headed back upstairs.

The intel room was a treasure trove of scrap and several weapons that they happily added to their collection. Their packs were loaded down with scrap, ammo, chems, food, and a duffle bag full of small pipe weapons and a hunting rifle. By the time they were done looting, the sun had begun to set. Securing the door up top, they locked themselves in the Intel room and laid out their bedrolls.

After an unsatisfying dinner of cram and pork and beans, they climbed into their bedrolls. Preston suggested an early morning departure so they could get home sooner than later. The thought of getting up early again after the day they'd had horrified Nora, but she reluctantly agreed.

"Preston?" she asked as they lay there in the darkened room, "I couldn't have done this without you today. You prepared me for this, guided me every step of the way. Thank you. I owe you so much..."

"Nora..." Preston reached out and took her hand, squeezing it, "I think you and I are past the point of owing each other anything, how about we just say that today was," he thought for a moment "A friend helping a friend, you can never have too many of those in the Commonwealth."

"Friends, I like that," Nora said, squeezing his hand before pulling her hand back under the covers, "But let's also say that friends don't make friends race Dogmeat up and down the streets of Sanctuary, it's demoralizing, and his expectations are way too high, I'll never make the track team under that kind of pressure."

"I may have to Promote him to Drill Sergeant," she heard Preston chuckle.

"Only if he gets to wear one of the Minutemen hats." Nora smiled sleepily. "Oh my god, you have to find him a hat Preston!" she giggled and then yawned as she drifted off to sleep in the belly of a military relic; the only thing she wished for was Marcy's arms around her.

-Marcy-

Marcy passed Lexxi a bottle of purified water as they sat in the shade. It was gratefully accepted with a dazzling smile. The young woman had been quick to grow on Marcy, and it wasn't a far stretch to say she now considered Lexxi, a surrogate daughter of sorts.

Lexxi drained her water bottle and then, with a sigh, lay her head on Marcy's shoulder. They were both soaked in sweat from working all morning. Still, it didn't seem to bother Lexxi. The young woman was starved for affection, needing a gentle touch in her life after the cruelty she'd been put through, and though Marcy thought Nora would have been better suited for the job, she couldn't bring herself to deny Lexxi what she needed.

"Mmmm, this is one of my favorite parts of the day," Lexxi sighed.

"Good," Marcy said, reaching out she put an arm around Lexxi, "You and Marcus settling into your new home?" she inquired as Lexxi snuggled closer.

"Yes! It's wonderful!" the young woman gushed. "We never thought we'd have four walls and a bed to call our own." she sighed.

"Hmmm, bed? as in singular?" Marcy looked down at her with a smirk, "I thought there were two beds in that house?"

"Oh! I uh...yes...two beds!" Lexxi's cheeks turned a pretty impressive shade of pink, telling Marcy all she needed to know.

"As long as you're taking it slow, at a pace, you're comfortable with Lexxi. I guess I could see why you'd need only one bed." She decided not to press the matter.

"Very slow, He's gentle Marcy, he'd never hurt me," Lexxi assured her.

"Good, that's what matters," 

They enjoyed the rest of their break in silence, and as they were rising to their feet, they heard Sturges call out.

"Well, look who's back! You managed to hit anything you shot at little sister?"

"Bite me, Sturges!" came Nora's happy reply. Marcy's heart rate picked up just hearing that voice, and as Lexxi took off to greet her, Marcy wanted nothing more than to follow her and wrap her arms around Nora herself. Instead, she kept her composure, leaning up against the wall and watching Nora closely, looking for any signs of injury or trauma on Nora's face.

She watched Nora look around until their eyes locked, she saw Nora's lips turn up into a bright smile when she saw her, Marcy nodded her head feeling her heart speed up at the mere sight of that smile, turning back she forced herself to pick up her hoe and get back to work.

A few minutes later, Nora rounded the building, and as soon as Marcy saw her, she dropped what she was doing and hurried into Nora's open arms. The two embraced, and Marcy was amazed at how complete she felt.

"Are you ok?" she asked, looking into Nora's sparkling green eyes.

"I'm tired, hungry, and sore in places I didn't even know I had," Nora groaned, "But we did it, wiped those pricks right off the map, and I found Mary's locket Marcy! Now the Abernathy's can finally have closure."

"Good for you Nora, I knew you could do it," Marcy nuzzled Nora's neck and felt Nora shiver as Marcy's nose brushed over some sensitive skin, "If you want, I'll come over tonight and take care of some of that soreness?" she whispered in Nora's ear, she felt her shiver again and smiled to herself, "Would you like that?"

"Y-You know? I t-think I would enjoy that." Nora sighed, pulling her closer.

-Nora-

The Mood that evening was celebratory. Sturges cooked up chunks of Radstag and Tato's, and when everyone had something to drink, Preston recounted their adventure to everyone. By the time he finished, there was a round of applause that made Nora blush.

When the story was finished, Nora bid everyone a good night, tired, sore, but now very full, she was looking forward to her bed and Marcy's company.

(If you want, I'll come over tonight and take care of some of that soreness) 

Nora had no idea just what Marcy had planned, only that the possibility of finding out both thrilled and frightened her.

\--

Nora sat in bed, twisting the sheet nervously in her hands, a book lay forgotten in front of her. Her attention was focused on the front door, and when she finally heard it open and close, her heart rate picked up.

Marcy appeared in the doorway as she had so many times before, bending over to remove her boots and then her pants. This bedtime ritual had happened so often now that it was bordering on routine, but then why did tonight feel so different?

"Scoot forward a little bit," Marcy said, climbing into bed behind Nora. Nora wriggled forward and sighed as she felt Marcy's fingers on her shoulders. What followed was a thorough backrub that left Nora feeling so relaxed it was like she was melting into Marcy's arms.

Brushing her hair away from her neck Marcy worked her fingers gently filling the room with Nora's soft sighs and groans of pleasure as tension slipped away. She shivered as she felt Marcy's warm breath on her neck. Her eyes snapped open as Marcy placed a soft and almost tentative kiss on the back of her neck.

It was the smallest of kisses, but it set Nora's heart racing.

"I was...I was worried," Marcy confessed, laying her chin on Nora's shoulder; she pulled Nora back into her arms and held her tightly," "Y-you....watching you leave, made me realize just how much you mean to me."

Then a soft, tentative kiss to her earlobe that made Nora's skin break out in goosebumps.

((Is this it? Are we going to? I can't, can I?))

"I d-don't know how if I'm the only one feeling this way..." Marcy said, placing another soft kiss on the side of Nora's neck. Almost by reflex, she tilted her head slightly to the side, exposing more of her neck. Marcy took the invitation growing more bold, pressing several longer kisses to her neck and then throat, her tongue darting out to taste Nora's skin.

"M-Marcy I...."

((I can't do this...I don't want to hurt her but....but I like this...I want this!))

"You make me feel like...like everything is going to be ok." Marcy sighed against her neck brushing her nose up and down the skin to the back of Nora's ear. Opening her mouth, she tugged gently on Nora's ear lobe with her teeth, making her gasp.

((Stop....gotta stop....)) a tear of frustration ran down Nora's cheek as she listened to Marcy, the woman was making her feel so good, but she felt so damned conflicted, wracked by the intimate pleasure she felt after so long mixed with the weight of guilt for her deceased husband, who was still very much alive in her heart.

Marcy trailed those soft kisses up to her cheek, but she jerked and stopped abruptly when she tasted the salt of tears.

"Nora?" her voice suddenly filled with surprise. She turned the woman's face to meet her own and saw her cheeks wet with tears.

"M-Marcy..." Nora's breath hitched in her throat. "I want to, but...I can't...I just can't right now. I have so much to sort out in my head, I'm confused..." she winced as the warm look in Marcy's eyes began to cool. She felt Marcy pull back, putting distance between them.

Marcy swung her feet over the side of the bed sitting there, back straight, Nora scrambled to sit next to her reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder, but she felt it stiffen under her touch.

"Please don't leave Marcy..."

"I thought...I thought you wanted this...I mean, was this...was it just pity you felt?" Marcy's voice was growing colder.

"No, it's not pity! Marcy, I need you here with me....it's just..."

"It's just you don't "Want" me," Marcy's voice broke, getting up; she picked up her pants and began to redress, stuffing her feet into her boots without bothering to tie them.

"MARCY! Please don't go...Please...." Marcy turned to look at her and hardened her heart as she saw Nora was openly crying now.

"Figure out what it is you want, Nora," each word was bitten off, jagged, "When you do...maybe I'll be there." she turned and hurried out of the room before Nora could see the tears running down her cheeks.

Nora winced as she heard the slamming of the front door. The loud noise broke whatever composure she had left. Grabbing Marcy's pillow, she buried her face in it, breaking down and sobbing.

\--

Mama Murphy sighed at the soft rapping on her door. She glanced over at the kettle already boiling for the company she'd anticipated. Sight or no sight, she knew it would only be a matter of time before Nora came to her door, and when she'd heard Nora's door slam and saw Marcy practically running away, she figured tonight was going to be that night.

Opening the door, she found Nora, her cheeks streaked with tears and shivering on her doorstep, arms wrapped around herself, mouth working on trying to get words out, but only a hiccup of a sob escaped.

"Come in, come in," Mama Murphey smiled, "Come on, tea's just about ready," she put an arm around the distraught woman and led her into the living room.

"T-Thank you. I'm sorry to come so late..."

"Don't be. I was expecting you," she led Nora over to her couch and sat her down before going into the kitchen and making two cups of tea.

"You were expecting me?" Nora asked, wiping at her eyes. "Did you know I was coming because of...."

"The sight?" Mama Murphy said, handing her a steaming mug of tea and sitting down next to her, "I've seen you with the Sight before, but tonight? Tonight I saw Marcy run out of your house. It's not hard to see how close you two have been getting lately if you know what to look for."

"Oh," Nora sniffled, wiping at her eyes. She took a sip of the tea and found it sweet, almost like honey, she couldn't imagine bee's having survived the bombs, and if they had, she suspected one would have tried to kill her already, "What IS the sight Mama Murphy?" she sipped at her tea.

"Kid, I've been asking myself that question my entire life, I...see things, sometimes I see the past, sometimes I see the future, usually depends on where I am. Since I've come here to Sanctuary, I've seen the past, and it's been good things, things that make me smile."

"What have you seen?" Nora asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Happy things, Sanctuary the way it used to be, all green, lovely people, beautiful homes, children running around....dressed up in funny clothes." Nora smiled at the puzzled look on her face.

"It was almost Halloween. The children were all dressed up in their Halloween costumes," she quickly explained to Mama Murphy the concept behind Halloween and saw understanding dawn on her face. "So you see, "Echoes from the past?" she asked, drinking more tea.

"Echo's yes, I like that, though sometimes it's more than an Echo," Mama sighed. "When I was a little girl, I had a knack for finding things. If people in the settlement lost things, they'd usually come to me for help. My parents had no real explanation for it. They didn't believe i had a gift, just that i was lucky, but then one day a man's wife went missing, they looked and looked for her. Still, they couldn't find her, after about a week I started having a dream, a dream about a clearing in the forest and a shallow grave, I knew without a doubt that she was dead but she needed to be found, I drove my father crazy trying to get him to let me show him where she was, finally after a week of begging he finally relented, told me if i was wrong he was going to beat me with his belt for wasting everyone's time," she sighed taking a sip of her tea.

"So I lead a group of men out there, the husband included, as we got closer and closer to the grave he started to get nervous, told them this was stupid, that I was just having fun with all of them, wasting their time, closer we got the more insistent he got, by the time we reached the grave, right where I knew it was, he was a bundle of nerves, there was already a shovel there, see he'd left it there to come back and dig her a deeper grave after we'd given up looking for her, there was blood on it too, her blood, once they opened up the grave and found her beaten to death he confessed to murdering her in a fit of rage, he was placed under arrest and hung before the week was out, after that everyone started looking at me differently, and it wasn't always a good thing."

"Mama Murphy, I'm so sorry, that couldn't have been easy for a little girl," Nora was amazed at the story, it seemed so hard to believe, yet she'd described Halloween preparations pre-war without knowing what Halloween even was, and had described things Nora had seen herself.

"It wasn't always easy, but there were times it was fun too," Mama smiled. "But those are stories for another day. I believe you've come to me to talk about matters of the heart."

Nodding her head, Nora began to talk, getting everything off her chest about Marcy and the confusing feelings she was having about the woman, how it felt both right and wrong. Starting to cry again, she found herself stretched out on the couch with her head in Mama Murphy's lap as the woman stroked her hair.

"I-It started as an invitation, I told her I would be there for her any time she needed me, I never expected her to show up one night and get into bed with me, and I never expected it happen again," Nora closed her eyes, sighing as Mama's fingers brushed through her hair, "But she did come back, again, and again, and then I started looking forward it, it started feeling more natural, we started getting closer, it became more than comfort, it became..." Nora struggled to find the word.

"Intimate?" Mama Murphy finished for her

"Yes! Intimate! The small touches, waking up with her pressed against me, I started to...feel things for her that I haven't felt since Nate, they felt right but...I'm worried about my feelings for Nate, that It's too soon to move on. I'm afraid how I feel makes me a bad person, a bad wife. I just never expected to feel that way again, and with a woman, but suddenly it was like Marcy was...."

"Like she was right here..." Mama Murphy said, putting her hand over Nora's heart.

"Y-Yes," Nora sighed as more tears came.

"The heart is a big place, kid. Sometimes you don't realize how big it is until it's empty, and you're hurting and alone."

"A-Aint that the truth," Nora sighed.

"I've seen your Nate, you know," Mama Murphy said, leaning her head back against the couch, "Strong, handsome, he always had that gentle smile just for you, didn't he?"

"Y-Yes," Nora looked up at her wide-eyed, "What did you see?" she asked, clutching at her hand.

"I saw your Nate, home from the war, standing on the sidewalk, bags at his feet. He was staring at the door, afraid to move, afraid that he wouldn't be welcome back in your heart because of the blood he had on his hands, the things he'd had to do, and the things he'd seen. Then I saw the door open. I felt all his fears and worries blow away on the breeze when you ran down the walkway and threw yourself into his arms." Mama smiled down at her

"Oh..." Nora smiled through the tears, "I was so happy to see him, Nicky had been by the other night, and we'd stayed up late decorating the living room to welcome him home. We made sure all his favorites were in the fridge. He never drank beer he drank..."

"Cherry Nuka Cola," Mama Murphy smiled.

"Yes!" Nora laughed. "All the time, I used to tell him it was going to rot his teeth!" she smiled through more tears, "How can I leave all that behind Mama, just forget all that and move on?"

"Who says you have to forget?" Mama Murphy smiled. "I've had two husbands and a wife during my lifetime Nora, all the good and the bad, all the happiness and the sorrow, some days I miss all three of them desperately, but without a doubt, I loved all three with all my heart."

"Because the heart is a big place," Nora sighed with a small smile.

"Exactly, your house was always full of life and love Nora, Nate wanted to prepare you for times like these though I doubt he ever imagined it would be a world like it is now. Knowing what I know about him, I don't think he would ever want you hurting and alone in the world. If you want to do right by your husband Nora, there's only one thing you can do."

"W-What's that?" Nora asked

"Bring him home." Mama Murphy said, leaning down and kissing the top of her head, "Lay him to rest, and then go on living with all the love and life you deserve."

Closing her eyes, Nora knew just how hard it would be, but she knew Mama Murphy was right, "What about Marcy? I don't think she's going to w-want anything to do with me now." Nora said, feeling the ache in her heart anew.

"Marcy's been cut, and she's been cut deep, but you didn't do the cutting Nora, she's so afraid of rejection that she thinks she sees it coming when it isn't there, you give her a few days to cool off, then explain to her about the hole in your heart, Be patient with her, be gentle, and she'll come around."

"Thank you, Mama, you've given me so much to think about," she smiled up at the old woman, "You've given me hope," she said, taking the woman's hand and kissing it, "But I should go, I've taken enough of your time," even though moving from this spot was the last thing she wanted to do.

"You hush, you're staying right here," Mama Murphy said, reaching over the back of the couch for a blanket and covering her up. She resumed stroking Nora's hair, Nora to her credit, put up absolutely no fight whatsoever.

"How did you know I was staying?" she smiled, curling up under the covers, "Did you see it?"

"Maybe I did, Nora," Mama Murphy smiled, "Maybe I did."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always for reading! You and your support is appreciated! I hope you're all doing well and you're safe.


	18. Closure.

-Sturges-

Lucy was about the only thing Sturges thought about, it seemed. Ever since her last visit to Sanctuary, He hadn't been able to get her off his mind. Intuition told him that she'd been testing him, revealing shirt, placing herself well into his personal space, laying right close to him under the water purifier, so their shoulders touched. There had been nothing shy about her that day.

"Touch," his baser instincts had told him. Without a doubt, he desired her, it had been a long time since Quincy, and even then, he hadn't had time for a relationship, Only one night stands, and passionate flings, with a like-minded Caravan guard looking to scratch the same "itch" as he.

Yet instinct told him if he had given in to those urges, he would have broken a blossoming trust. Since Lucy left, he'd hoped that he'd passed whatever test she'd been giving him that day.

Physical attraction aside, Sturges loved her curious mind, her desire to help with all things mechanical. She seemed to have the desire to learn. Sturges wanted to stoke the fire of that desire into a passion (Among other things). If he could work to make Sanctuary a better place with Lucy by his side, Sturges imagined he couldn't possibly want for anything else in the Commonwealth.

"Someone's thinking about Lucy Kisses!" Nora taunted in a sing-song voice as they walked to Abernathy farm. Sturges had a sneaking suspicion that Nora had asked him along because she wanted to see what would happen with Lucy as badly as he did. Though he tried to play it off and act cool, the fact he'd jumped at the opportunity to visit with her and Preston had only made Nora's grin grow wider.

"You hush," Sturges reached out and put his arm around Nora affectionately before reaching out and messing up her hair. He knew Nora "Hated" that. Her shrieks of Protest only increased (Albeit muffled) when he put her in a headlock and introduced her face to his armpit.

"Oh my god!" Nora groaned, finally escaping his clutches, "You smell like sweaty Brahmin ass Sturges!" her hair was a wreck. She reminded him of a cat he'd once pet the wrong way. Her eyes flashed with the same indignant look that cat had given him as she tried to smooth out her hair.

She was undoubtedly the bratty little sister he'd never had growing up, and Sturges loved her with all his heart, While Concord had been full of blood and death, it had also put Nora in his life, and he'd be forever grateful for that.

"Oh? You been smelling much sweaty Brahmin ass lately?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Ugh! Preston! Sturges is picking on me!" Nora grumbled as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"That is an impressive structure," Preston said as Abernathy farm came into view, he ignored them with all the professionalism of a Minuteman, "Definitely in need of solid defenses, though."

Feeling as though he'd achieved a moral victory, Sturges resumed thinking about Lucy. While he didn't want to rush a good thing, he wasn't one for playing too many games. He hoped at some point she'd lay all her cards on the table and let him know just what she was looking for, be it a relationship or a fling. Sturges prayed it was a relationship. Flings were fun, but ever since, Quincy Sturges wanted to wake up next to a woman and know that she was there to stay in his life.

He could picture himself waking up next to Lucy.

Now on Abernathy land Sturges felt Nora squeeze his shoulder, he saw she was gesturing off to the side, a look of concern on her face, turning he saw Lucy kneeling on the ground moving her mouth as if talking to someone, he nodded his head and veered off course heading for Lucy, while Nora and Preston went around to the front of the building.

As he got closer, he could see that Lucy was crying and when Sturges saw the grave she knelt in front of, it dawned on him that this was where they laid Mary to rest. Clearing his throat, he called out her name softly.

Lucy looked over at him. The sad little smile she gave him hurt his heart, "Do you want a little company? I don't want to intrude..." she shook her head and gestured for him to sit next to her.

"I was just telling Mary about this handsome Doctor I met." Lucy smiled through her tears, "How he saved my finger from falling off."

"Did you tell her what a potty mouth you had?" Sturges smiled.

"Oh, that was no secret, I learned every bad word I know from her or mom, the women in the Abernathy family don't fuck around...w-which is probably why she's...why she's here." Lucy wiped at her eyes. "S-She was s-s-so angry t-that day, a-and they j-just fuh-fucking shot her r-r-right where she stood," Shoulders shaking, she covered her face and sobbed, "A-And now you get to see me c-crying....perfect!"

"Com'ere Darlin," Sturges sighed, pulling her into his arms. "Crying ain't nothing to be ashamed of."

Lucy didn't fight him, allowing herself to be pulled into his lap like a tired child that just needed to cry herself out. She put her arms around his neck and held onto him, unsure of what to say; he just talked so she could hear him speak. After a time, she began to calm down.

"I do have some good news for you," he told her. When she looked up at him, he couldn't resist tucking some of her hair behind her ear so he could see her face better, she looked at him questioningly, and he found that even though her eyes were filled with tears, they were still beautiful. "Preston and Nora, they tracked those raiders down, killed every single one of them, got your sister's locket back."

He watched as her eyes widened, and her lips turned up in a grateful smile, tears leaked from her eyes, but there was a peaceful look on her face now. Laying her head on his shoulder, he felt her body relax against his.

"Good, I hope they burned that fucking place to the ground." she sighed. They stayed that way for a while longer before she looked up at him again, "You know you can let me go if you want to." her eyes searched his, looking for what he didn't know.

"Can't say I want to do that right at this moment," he told her.

"Hmmm," she sighed, "Good answer."

-Nora-

The Abernathy's gratitude nearly brought Nora to tears. Connie Abernathy held the Locket to her heart. Unable to speak, Blake put his arm around his wife and told them that the Minutemen could count on their support in the future whatever they needed. Nora could tell by the way that Preston's body language changed that he was more than pleased.

While Preston and Blake spoke about setting up defenses around the farm, Connie and Nora spoke quietly, Connie glancing out the window stopped mid-sentence, and when Nora followed her gaze, she smiled at the sight of Sturges holding Lucy.

"Is he a good man?" Connie asked Nora.

"One of the finest men I know," Nora told her without hesitation.

"Lucy has been quite smitten with him ever since she saw him," Connie confided, "Out here there's never been a chance for her to have a normal relationship with anyone but her family. There was a sweet young man that used to ride with a Caravan, but it turned out he was a sweet young man to a couple of other girls in Diamond City too."

"Sturges would never do anything like that. Knowing him like I do, I can say with confidence that he's pretty smitten with her too." Nora turned away from the window, not wanting to intrude on the private moment any longer.

When Preston and Blake were finished talking, they said their goodbye's, leaving the home. Nora caught sight of the two-headed Brahmin and shuddered as they went down the stairs.

"What's wrong?" Preston asked, following her gaze.

"I just can't get used to the sight of those two-headed cows...it just...it's wrong," Nora said, making a face.

"Domesticated Brahmin can be quite gentle," Preston said, moving over to the pen, "I bet you two are two of the sweetest girls I've ever met, aren't you?" he asked the Brahmin, reaching out he ran his fingers under their chins, to Nora's amusement the two heads began to nuzzle him as Preston sweet-talked them.

"Oh my g-god," Nora couldn't help but laugh as she watched Preston fawn over them. They were acting like Dogmeat if he'd been ten times bigger and had two heads.

"Come give it a try," Preston grinned. Nora approached hesitantly and reached out, running her fingers over the nose of one of the heads. The Brahmin snorted, leaning into the touch, and Nora melted a little inside.

"That's right, two sweet hard-working girls." Preston cooed

They fawned over the Brahmin for a few more minutes before meeting Sturges and Lucy. Lucy shook Preston's hand and gave Nora a tight hug, one which Nora was happy to return.

"Thank you for killing those Bastards. If you ever need something, anything, let me know." the young woman vowed.

"No repayment necessary," Nora said, "But I've always got room in my life for a friend. You should come play poker with us some night, Sturges is a cheating bastard, but it's a fun time."

"What are you telling her over there?" Sturges cocked his head to the side. "I heard my name and "bastard" in the same sentence. Are you telling her how bad you suck at poker?"

"Bite me, Sturges!" Nora stuck her tongue out.

"If this is what poker night is like, then I think I will stop in." Lucy smiled as Nora put an arm around her.

"Good! You don't "have to" be crazy to play with us, but it helps."

Walking back to Sanctuary, Nora's step felt lighter. Retrieving the Locket had been no easy task, but now that she'd seen first hand what the gesture had meant to the Abernathy's, she would have gladly done it all over again.

"Penny for your thoughts, boss?" Sturges asked Preston. The Minuteman looked thoughtful as they passed by the Red Rocket station.

"I'm worried about Jun," Preston told them, "Sanctuary was supposed to be a second chance for all of us, and everyone seems to be moving forward except for him. I'm not saying he shouldn't be allowed to grieve, but every time I see him, he looks a little worse." he sighed.

"He'll do what's asked of him," Sturges agreed, "But he barely eats, doesn't talk to anyone. I know he and Marcy have drifted apart. Kyle was really the only thing keeping them together. I never figured out why but before they came to Quincy, something bad happened between them."

"If we had a general store, I'd put him behind the counter in a heartbeat," Preston told them, "I want to give him something to do, a job that will make him feel useful, but I really don't know that much about him."

"He used to ride as a Caravan guard for his father. He's a damn good shot with a rifle," Sturges shared with them, "He can track, hunt, his old man taught him quite a bit before he died."

"Hunting...we could try that, Nora do you think you could go out with him? We're going to need some fresh meat soon," Preston asked her.

Nora had remained silent. She knew so little about Marcy and Jun's relationship, and she'd hoped to glean something from the conversation that would give her an insight into Marcy's past, "Of course, Preston, I'd be happy to."

Truth be told, she wasn't sure how "Happy" she was at the idea. The fact she was going to be spending time with Jun brought the uncomfortable realization to mind that she had Intimate feelings for the woman who used to be his wife, even technically still was his wife. She had no idea about how relationships worked in the Commonwealth nowadays. Still, the sudden fear that she contributed to the deterioration of a relationship felt like a ball of ice in her gut.

What if Jun hated her? Would she have been any more receptive to someone trying to come in-between her and Nate? Swallowing hard, Nora suddenly dreaded the idea of being alone with Jun, but she'd already committed to the Hunting trip, and it was too late to back out now.

"Excellent! I'll let him know. Is tomorrow ok with you?" Preston asked.

"It's good with me," Nora cast a longing gaze and Marcy's home as they passed by it. She had so many questions she needed answers to. Her talk with Mama Murphy had gone a long way towards helping her put her emotional affairs in order. She wanted to talk with Marcy, let her know about her emotions, that they were "her worries" and nothing Marcy had done. She desperately wanted the woman to see that she hadn't rejected her, that Nora did indeed "Want" her, even if she'd never been with a woman before and didn't have any clue where to start.

And above all else, she wanted to hold Marcy and be held by her. She prayed Marcy would come by her house that evening that they could patch things up. Still, she knew deep down she wouldn't be seeing Marcy that night, that she needed a few days to cool down and to press the matter further might break things beyond repair.

Nora guessed that she'd just have to wait till then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for all the love and support you've been showing my little story. I've said it before, and I won't hesitate to repeat it. It means the world to me. I'm grateful I can occupy a few minutes of your day!


	19. Turrets, Hunting Trips, and Nostalgic Melon Stories.

The next morning found Lucy and Sturges loading up her Brahmin with the scrap and supplies they'd need to construct Turrets on the Abernathy farmstead. With the supplies were loaded, they began the journey back, passing a bottle of Nuka-Cola back and forth, content to travel at whatever pace the brahmin set. Despite their tender moment the other day, the two were suddenly awkward around one another, sneaking glances at each other and blushing if one of them got caught staring. It made Sturges feel like a thirteen-year-old kid experiencing his first crush.

Sturges showed her the blueprint he and Marcus had drawn up for the Turret to avoid the sudden mutual awkwardness they had developed. Talking shop eased their nerves, and Sturges was impressed by how little he had to explain to her.

When they arrived back at the farmstead, Sturges was surprised to find that Blake had departed to Diamond City and wouldn't be back for several days. Upon learning this, he felt Lucy's eyes on him, and when he met her gaze, she gave him a wink. If Connie had any reservations about her daughter being alone with Sturges, he couldn't read it on her face.

Sturges learned a great deal about The Abernathy women that day, Connie just like her daughter, had a knack for all things mechanical and wasn't afraid to roll up her sleeves and help them. By lunchtime, they had two turrets up and running and were well ahead of schedule by his reckoning.

Despite her mother's presence, Lucy wasn't shy around Sturges. Whatever initial awkwardness had existed between them vanished throughout the day, and he lost count of how many times she brushed up against him or touched his hand. As it warmed up, her flannel shirt came off, and Sturges saw she was wearing a white shirt underneath that was distractingly tight, seeming to showcase the exact things that he shouldn't have been staring at in front of her mother.

Again if Connie had any reservations about her daughter's exhibitionism, she remained silent. Her silence made Sturges nervous. Did she approve of her daughter's actions? He assumed she was waiting for a chance to speak her mind, and when she sent Lucy in to get lunch around noon, he realized that time was upon him.

"She's quite a handful, isn't she?" Connie asked as they worked on the third Turret.

"She is," Sturges said with a smile.

"I know you're waiting for the "Concerned Mom" speech. I've seen it on your face every time she brushes up against you." Connie chuckled. "So here it is then, I'm not concerned Sturges, but I am her mother, so as long as you never take from her what isn't offered you and I won't have any problems, understood?"

Sturges let his breath out in a whoosh without realizing he'd been holding it in. "That's not the kind of man I am, Miss Abernathy," he reassured her.

"I had that feeling. I saw you comforting her yesterday. I told my husband about it. He felt comfortable enough to leave us alone with you today, so you don't have to worry every time she touches you. I'm not going to shoot you, though I may if you call me "Miss Abernathy" again, you call me Connie," she said as Lucy came back out with lunch.

"Oh my god, mother! are you doing the concerned mom thing?" Lucy said, putting the food down and placing her hands on her hips when she saw the two talking.

"I was warning him you have a foul mouth, and he should run for the hills before it's too late!" Connie said candidly as they sat down for lunch. Lucy snorted.

"He won't run. I think he's already hooked." she winked at Sturges.

Sturges cleared his throat, willing himself not to blush. The conversation with Connie had been disarming. It had put him at ease.

"I was attracted to you the minute I heard you cuss," he winked back at Lucy. The young woman's eyes widened a little, hearing the admission that he was indeed attracted to her, and she smiled brightly at him.

"I think I won your father over the same way," Connie sighed. "I remember his Brahmin stepped on my foot, hurt like a son of a bitch! I put my boot to its ass and called it a fucking bastard, your father spit out the beer he was drinking, and it was love at first sight."

"Abernathy women don't fuck around!" Lucy raised her can of purified water.

"Abernathy women don't fuck around!" Her mother echoed, raising her own can.

Sturges wasn't sure just what he'd gotten himself into, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to regret it in the slightest.

-Nora-

Nora swallowed hard as she saw Jun waiting for her by the bridge, a pack and a hunting rifle slung over his shoulder. Sleep had eluded her most of the night. Without Marcy to hold her, she'd had plenty of time to dwell on the fact she was going to be alone with Jun the next day.

"Good morning Jun," she smiled brightly, he looked up at her as she approached and Nora tried to read his face, but all she could see was grief, he was too pale, too thin, she was amazed he had the energy to stand.

"Good morning," he said quietly.

"Sturges told me you're an experienced hunter. Since hunting wasn't part of getting my law degree and becoming a Lawyer, I figured we'd stand a chance of actually shooting something if you took the lead."

Jun nodded, and they fell into step as they crossed the bridge. As he left Sanctuary, she noticed it was almost like he began to wake up, looking around as if seeing the world from a different perspective. It was like watching Nate at the firing range. Anywhere else, he was her loving devoted husband. However, with a gun in his hands, Nora could see the strict discipline of a Soldier.

"What's a Lawyer?" Jun asked her with a little more strength in his voice as they drifted off the main road and headed in the direction of Station Olivia.

Nora was so surprised he'd asked her a question that she almost asked him to repeat it, "Well, it was a Pre-war job." she explained to him clearly as she could about judges and a court of law, "I would represent clients who had committed a crime or had been accused of committing a crime, it was my job to fight for them and prove their innocence," Nora sighed "Not that anyone needs a lawyer these days." 

Jun knelt and examined the ground in front of him, motioning for her to join him. He showed her the tracks, "Radstag," he told her, "Fairly fresh. We'll follow these for a little ways, see where he goes," Nora couldn't help but notice the confidence in his voice. His strides seemed to grow longer as they tracked the Radstag. She marveled that she was seeing Jun come out of his shell.

"The world has no place anymore for a court," Jun said as they walked, "But it does need justice Nora, it needs a voice that isn't afraid to say "This is wrong," and if that fails, it needs people who will pick up a gun and fight that Injustice...so there aren't more victims like...like K-Kyle," his voice faltered for a moment. He busied himself with rechecking the tracks. "I think you're more suited for this world than you give yourself credit for Nora," he said when he'd recovered his composure.

Nora was stunned. They were some of the most comforting and empowering words she'd heard since she'd stepped out of the vault. She was suddenly ashamed that she'd dreaded this trip and even more guilty that she'd expected Jun to try and hurt her, "Thank you, Jun... I'd never really thought of it that way."

The sinking feeling in her stomach gone, Nora realized she was hungry, "Hey Jun, I've got some brahmin jerky here. You want some?" she asked, taking her pack off and kneeling to dig through it, hands deep in her bag she was unprepared when Jun placed his hand over her mouth from behind.

"Don't. Make. a. Sound." his voice growled in her ear.

-Sturges-

The view of the sky from the roof of the farmhouse was magnificent. Sturges was happy to be sharing the view with Lucy, who sat next to him on a couch. He was tired from the day's work but relaxed after having had a chance to wash up and eat dinner. Below them, four turrets hummed away, ready to defend the farmstead from any harm.

"So what do you think of farm life?" Lucy looked over at him from where she sat.

"It seems tough, lonely, not a lot of security." Sturges answered, looking over at her, "Seems like you make yourself a target the minute you set roots down and try to grow anything anywhere, but I promise we'll do whatever we can to keep you all safe." he promised.

"You're not wrong about any of it," Lucy sighed, "The three of us, we're glad to see life and Sanctuary again, and we're thankful for what you've done for us."

"Without your crops, we'd be pretty hungry in Sanctuary. We're in your debt for that." Sturges smiled.

"Hmmm," Lucy sighed, stretching her arms over her head, "Debt you say?" standing up from the couch, she sauntered over and sat down in his lap facing him, setting her hands on his shoulders, she looked down at him, "Then maybe I should be collecting on this debt."

"Well then, what did you have in mi...." Sturges was cut off as Lucy leaned in and kissed him. His response was to pull her body closer to his, one hand traveling up her back to her neck. Through her hair deepening the kiss, Lucy groaned against his lips, making no attempt to pull away. He could feel the need in her kiss, the way her body pressed tight to his. When she finally pulled back to breathe, he could see the rise and fall of her chest as she panted slightly, not that he wasn't trying to catch his breath as well.

"Darlin?" reaching out to cup her cheek, he brushed his thumb across it, "Where's this going?" he asked her, "I ain't complaining, mind you, I like you, and I like how you fit in my lap just right...but you've been coming on real strong, and I'm wondering what it is you're looking for?"

"Right to the tough questions, huh?" Lucy sighed, leaning into his touch, "Ok fair enough handsome," leaning forward she rested her head on his shoulder, speaking softly into his ear, "I won't lie, I want you, and I want you to want me, I want you to take me to bed and fuck me for a week straight because you better believe I've got a lot of built-up sexual tension, since the last man in my life, prick that he turned out to be."

Sturges knew she felt him respond to her words. Giggling softly, she ground her hips down on his lap against his hardness, "And you want it too because it's been a long time for you, hasn't it?"

"N-Not since Quincy," Sturges groaned. "B-But Lucy you..."

"Shhh," she stopped him with a finger to his lips, "I want all of that Sturges, but I also want what my mom and dad have. I don't know two people in this world who love each other more than my mom and dad, I've watched them weather every single fucked up thing the commonwealth could throw at them in my lifetime, and not once have they stopped loving each other, I want a man who will love me like that, I know it doesn't happen like that overnight, but I want a man who's brave enough to try!"

"A-And what makes you think that could be me?" Sturges asked as he felt her begin to nuzzle his earlobe with the tip of her nose.

"Because you want me, I can see it in your eyes. I could see it when I took my short off that first time in Sanctuary. Any other man would have found some excuse to feel me up while I was so close to him, but you? the only thing you did was kiss my finger when I hurt myself," Lucy smiled softly. "All the times I teased you, and I could see you wanted me, yet you remained the perfect gentleman, you have self-control,"

Cupping his cheek, she turned his head so she could see his eyes, "And when you saw me crying, you held me, tried to cheer me up and make me smile in your own gentle way. It wasn't part of my plan to let you see me all emotional, but it was after that I started to think that maybe, maybe you could be the kind of man who I could be serious with." smiling, she put her finger on his nose, "So "That" is why I think you could be that man, was that a serious enough answer for you?" 

"Answer received loud and clear, Darlin," Sturges smiled. He nipped at her finger as she poked his nose, making her giggle, then her look changed, and she regarded him with a more severe look.

"So maybe think about it tonight? And if you have an answer for me in the morning....or a few days, you could tell me?" he could hear the vulnerability in her voice like he'd hoped she'd laid all her cards out on the table, ad in doing so had put his mind at ease.

"Darlin, I don't need to think about it tonight," he told her, pulling her in closer. I don't know if I'll wind up being that man that you want in the end, but I'd spend the rest of my life kicking myself if I passed up the opportunity to find out, so yes, I'll be that man till you tired of me." 

Lucy threw her arms around the back of his neck with a happy squeal that she would later deny making, pressing her lips to his in a heated kiss that went on until they both needed to breathe, laying there catching their breath and unwilling to let go of each other for nothing short of a natural disaster, Lucy rested her cheek on his shoulder.

"I promise I'll try to be a better man for you than...what did you call him? The Prick?"

Lucy snorted.

"Real sweet guy, Traveled as a Caravan Guard, used to talk to me every time they came by the farm, we got to know each other, he'd bring me romance novels, I'd read em, get an urge to try some of those things I read about, he was thrilled to oblige, we'd sneak off for a few hours when his Caravan would spend the night here, I thought it was getting serious." she sighed.

"Till one day Daddy and I rode into Diamond City to sell our crop, and there's my sweet guy pulling the same trick, and on some city girl, well I saw red before daddy could stop me I grabbed one of the melons off our cart, stuck it up under my shirt like I was Pregnant and confronted him, told him the child was his and he better do right by me, well the girl lost interest real quick," Lucy grinned, "And Mister sweet guy? I've never seen a man run away so fast in my life...the Prick."

"Hell hath no fury..." Sturges grinned.

"I won't lie, I cried a lot, but daddy got me a beer...my first beer, by the way, told me I could have it as long as I didn't tell my mother, we drank and laughed about it all the way back home, daddy could always turn the worst days of my life into something to smile about," Lucy said affectionately.

They talked for hours about every little thing they could think about, and when Blake Abernathy got home early in the morning, Connie met him with a finger to her lips, taking him upstairs to the roof tiptoeing all the way she showed him his daughter asleep in Sturges's arms.


	20. Friction

Nora swallowed hard as Jun's voice hissed in her ear, had she misread the situation that badly? Had he just been waiting for her to turn her back so he could grab her?

"Yao Guai," Jun hissed, his free hand reaching out over her shoulder and pointing to the creature. Nora didn't see it till it lumbered out of a bush and sniffed the air. A low rumbling growl slipped from its lips, the sound of which would haunt her nightmares for weeks to come made her skin break out in goosebumps.

Of course, the fucking bears would have survived the apocalypse.

Slowly removing his hand from her mouth, Jun went to the ground and motioned for her to follow him, stopping with their backs to a rock. They sat and listened to the creature, lumbering around. Nora recognized the area as the spot she and Preston had ambushed the Raiders. The bear was no doubt wandering through the camp.

((Come on, Yogi....fuck off)) Nora silently willed the creature to leave as they sat in silence, listening to the thing sniff and growl did nothing for Nora's nerves. Glancing over at Jun, she saw he was gripping his rifle tightly, but she saw no signs of the man who had been panicking back in Concord. He sat as quietly as a man haunted by ghosts could sit.

The crunching sound of teeth on flesh and bone left little doubt in Nora's mind of what the creature was doing, stomach churning; she turned her head to the side as if it would help block out the noises of the creature feasting ((Be thankful it isn't you)) a stern, unforgiving voice in her head informed her, startled and a little unnerved that such a voice existed in her head Nora wondered just how much the Wasteland was already beginning to shape her.

Finally, after an eternity of listening to the Yao Guai eat, Nora breathed out a sigh of relief as the creature, seemingly satisfied with its meal, lumbered off. They listened for it until the noises faded away altogether. Jun raised up on his knees, peering over the top of their cover, and then slumped back down, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Gone..." 

Nora looked over at him again, ashamed that she'd even considered the possibility that Jun would hurt her. She wanted to broach the subject. She'd been a Lawyer who'd built cases and argued in front of Judges, but much to her chagrin, she couldn't do either when she looked at Jun.

"Nora..." she blinked, realizing Jun was staring at her.

"Jun I..."

"I'm not angry, you know."

And just like that, all the cards were laid out on the table.

"Y-You're not?" Nora asked, dumbfounded by his perception, "How did you know what I was thinking?"

"Because you wear your emotions on your face," Jun said with a ghost of a smile.

"But Marcy is your wife, and I..." 

"Was" my wife," Jun interrupted her, "She wanted to be my wife Nora, but then I did something so stupid, something I should have known better than to do...I...Took some bad advice...and I mishandled a situation so badly that I destroyed any trust she had in me," Jun let out a disgusted sigh, "After that, it was clear to both of us that she wasn't my "Wife" anymore, we were only together because of Kyle, we loved him with all our hearts, but around others, there was only the illusion that we loved each other, and sometimes that was impossible to keep up."

Nora reached out, putting a tentative hand on his shoulder as Jun bared his soul.

"When Kyle died, there was no need to pretend anymore, She hates me, and the only thing I can do for her is to let her hate me." Jun laid his head back against the rock closing his eyes, regret etched in his tired face.

Nora could not fathom a relationship so badly destroyed that both people need to live readily accepting such anger and grief.

"Jun, there's got to be something that can be done, something I can do to help you two."

"Her," Jun turned and looked at her. The sadness in his eyes was heartbreaking, but she could see resolve there too, "Help her, Nora. You two have something, it's fragile right now, but it can grow and thrive with time and patience."

"But what about you?" Nora asked. She couldn't pretend she wasn't excited at the idea of something growing between herself and Marcy but the idea of Jun having to sit by and watch it...

"Sanctuary is..." Jun struggled to find the words for a moment, "Well, it's been good to feel safe, it's been good to sleep with a roof over my head and not have to fear for my life, but Sanctuary is," he pauses for a moment, "Not for me, I think, everyone is growing, thinking about the future and making plans, and me? I'm stuck in the past, I think "my" Sanctuary is somewhere else."

"So you're just going to leave? Where would you go?" Nora knew she was only beginning to get acquainted with the Dangers of the commonwealth, but she knew enough that it wasn't the place someone wandered alone, especially not by someone crippled with grief and regret.

"I'm not going to leave right away. I'll get my strength back, contribute what I can." While his voice sounded sincere, Nora had a suspicion he was lying. Jun had placed himself in peripherals of everyone's vision for so long that if he were to slip away like a ghost in the middle of the night, it would probably take days for anyone to notice he was gone, realizing that she wondered if that had been his plan all along.

When Jun felt it was safe to move, they got to their feet and made their way through the camp. Nora refused to even look in the direction where the Yao Guai had been eating. After a few moments, they found the radstag tracks and began to follow its trail.

"Marcy and I, you said there's something there? How do you know?" she asked quietly as they walked.

"I know Marcy, and I know what Marcy looks like when she's falling in love." Jun's words were soft, but his comments sparked a whirl of emotions in Nora, Jaw-dropping as she began to blush and stammer, joy, desire, fear, all washed over her in waves.

She'd known they were growing closer, but Love? She pondered the word with her heart, hammering in her chest. It would explain Marcy's sudden reaction. She'd worked up the courage to finally show Nora how she'd felt, and she'd been so wrapped up in her own emotions that she hadn't realized Marcy was making the quietest declaration of Love.

"I want her to be happy, and believe me when I say you're the best thing that's ever happened to her," Jun told her. "I think you can help Marcy put herself back together, start living again."

Head still spinning with everything she needed to process. Nora vowed she would find Marcy as soon as they got back. She wasn't about to let Marcy slip away without explaining her feelings first.

-Marcy-

After two days, Marcy had cooled off.

Much like Mama Murphy had told Nora, once she'd had some time to think the situation over, she realized her reaction had been purely based on emotion. She'd been so worried about showing her feelings to Nora that she hadn't even bothered to consider Nora's emotions.

She didn't know why Nora had been crying. In hindsight, Marcy felt guilty and embarrassed at how she'd reacted, storming out of the house like a jilted lover while Nora wept in the bedroom.

It had been stupid. It had been selfish.

Nora would never have left her alone while she cried. Nora would have held her until the storm had passed and tried to talk to her about it, tried to set things right.

She was deeply troubled at why Nora had been crying, She was sure now that Nora's tears hadn't been a rejection of her advances, but her advances had been gently feeding the flames of Nora's confusion despite Marcy's best intentions.

What Nora needed to "sort out" was a mystery to Marcy, and it was only a mystery because she'd stormed off without trying to find the answer.

Had the situation been reversed, Nora would have pulled her back against her chest and asked what needed sorting?. Would it have been so hard to place her baseless fears of rejection aside and give that same compassion to Nora?

How could she have a relationship with a person as honest as Nora when there was so much Nora didn't know about her? When there was so much, she didn't know about Nora?

She needed to find Nora, apologize, and have a heart to heart with her. No matter how hard it was, it was time for her to come clean about her past.

Marcy vowed as she opened her door and walked out into the beautiful Commonwealth afternoon that she would never again leave Nora alone to cry.

She'd no more than taken three steps from her front door when she turned and saw something by the bridge. What she saw made her blood run cold.

Any thoughts of forgiveness suddenly forgotten, Marcy stalked towards the bridge, her teeth grit in rage.

-Nora-

Nora paused by the bridge. With a grunt, she helped Jun lay the dead radstag down on the ground. They were both exhausted after hauling it back to Sanctuary. Tired as they were, they exchanged smiles.

"This should feed Sanctuary for weeks Jun, You're amazing," Nora told him. "God, I'd probably be Yao Guai food if you hadn't been there."

Jun had withdrawn into himself as soon as Sanctuary had come into sight. But he offered her a small smile of gratitude.

"I mean it, Jun," Nora said, stepping closer to him, putting her hand on his shoulder again, "You are amazing. I know you're stuck in the past right now, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve a future with everyone here in Sanctuary, I hope you'll consider staying." stepping forward she drew him into a tight hug.

She felt his body go rigid at the hug and wondered just when the last time anyone had hugged him, "Nora..." his voice had a warning to it.

She pulled back enough to look into his eyes and was confused by what she saw. "Nora, let go!" he hissed as she heard footsteps rapidly approaching behind her.

Letting go and spinning around, she saw Marcy seething in anger as she approached them.

"SO THIS IS WHAT YOU NEEDED TO SORT OUT THEN?" Marcy screamed at her as tears rolled down her cheeks, "What were you going to do? Just pity fuck the both of us until you decided which one you wanted??"

"M-Marcy? I...No! Of c-course not!" Nora stammered, caught off guard, and suddenly baring the full brunt of Marcy's wrath. She froze up like a deer in the headlights.

"I TRUSTED YOU!" Marcy shrieked at Nora, "I was going to apologize to you!" Turning her attention to Jun, she leveled a finger at him. "I cannot BELIEVE you managed to fool me again! WERE YOU PAYING HER TOO? YOU BASTARD!"

"Marcy, please..." Nora could feel tears on her cheeks, "I don't know what you're talking about! we were just...."

"I SAW what you were "Just" doing!" Marcy spat, "DON'T talk to me, Nora!"

"ENOUGH!" It was Jun who pushed past Nora putting himself in between the two of them, reaching out to grab Marcy's arm, "Don't you dare try to accuse her of my crimes, Marcy! I own what I did! And I'm sorry damn it! A hundred times I'm sorry, a thousand times I'm SORRY! But this....THIS has nothing to do with you!" he gripped her arm. As soon as he touched her, he realized his mistake as Marcy's fist came crashing into his Nose.

"I told you what would happen if you touched me again!" Marcy growled. The fight was beginning to bring others running, Preston was first on the scene, but when he arrived, he stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do.

Overwhelmed, Overtired, and at her wit's end, Nora had to get away, shoving past Jun and Marcy with her vision blurred by tears. She'd been so close to something precious to call her own, but thanks to a misunderstanding that was clearly out of her reach now, moving faster, she broke into a run. She didn't care where her feet took her as long as it was away from there.


	21. Confession.

-Mama Murphy-

It wasn't since the bombs dropped that Sanctuary had seen so much conflict, Marcy had left in the night, Jun would soon be gone as well, Nora had vanished, Preston was beside himself, and Even Sturges who'd come home from Abernathy farm looking like a changed man was worried.

"Please, Mama, keep your eyes open. If you see anything, let me know, ok?" Preston had beseeched her the previous day after searching Sanctuary for Nora and coming up empty, asking her in not so many words if she would use the sight to help them find Nora.

Like everyone else in her life, Preston had never understood that Mama Murphy never used the sight. It was the sight that used her. It came to her when she least expected it, when she didn't want it, it was a guest that never stayed long but always showed up uninvited, But if she wanted the sight, needed it, then those were the times it was nowhere to be found.

So she'd assured Preston that she would "Keep her eyes open" and then went to bed, her heart was full of worry for Nora, but still, she managed to sleep. When she woke up in the morning, she saw Nora clear as day from her bedroom, curled up on a cold metal floor, arms wrapped around Dogmeat, dead to the world, seeing that Mama Murphy knew where she needed to go.

She hesitated to set her feet on the bridge that lead up to Vault 111. Sanctuary was once a beautiful place. The Visions that had come to her here were often of a lush green neighborhood full of life, love, and laughing children, but the area past the bridge reeked of anxiety, a cold fear, the way spoiled food reeked of mold and rot.

She didn't want to walk up that hill, but she needed to.

Swallowing hard, she pushed her fears aside and forced herself to walk. As she made her way up the hill, The Sight washed over her in waves. One moment she walked the Wasteland, another moment she passed like a spirit through Sanctuary hills in the full grip of fall, leaves full of such vibrant colors that it brought tears to her eyes to think the world had once possessed so much beauty.

The beauty was offset by the cries of frightened people, yelling and shouting coming from up ahead. A large crowd of people gathered around a fenced-off compound begging for salvation and being denied by men in cold suits of armor with miniguns, the stench of fear was worse here.

Making her way to the fence, the world shifted again, the ground now littered with the bones of those unable to find safety. The disorienting shift left her gasping and needing to steady herself. Putting a hand on the rusted remains of the fence, she willed herself to continue onward.

She made her way upwards in a dreamlike state, passing through people running to get on a platform that would take them to what they perceived as a safe place, stopping at the edge of the platform Mama Murphy found she could go no further, her eyes falling on a handsome man and a beautiful woman she recognized as Nora, cradled between them their son, she could feel their energy, full of fear but an equally intense love, love that had seen them through the worst of times and a love they were determined would see them through this.

Someone cried out, and then an explosion rocked the ground. Mama Murphy watched in growing horror as a giant mushroom cloud appeared on the Horizon.

"Send it down! Send it down now!" a voice called out. The platform began to lower precariously slow. She watched as a shockwave raced towards them, sweeping everything aside in such an unfathomable wave of destruction that she couldn't have imagined such a power existing. She was dimly aware that it was the end of the world racing at her, desperate to claim her with the same insatiable hunger it was taking everything else. All she could do was throw up her hands to cover her face, and then just before the shockwave hit, she found herself shivering and weeping against her hands in the silence of the Wasteland.

This grim revelation would haunt her dreams for weeks to come. Such were the gifts of the sight. Standing there shivering in the warmth of the commonwealth, she realized that Nora had lived through this horror. She wondered just how many times this scene had played out in the woman's mind.

Nora....Nora....there she was.

Mama Murphy made her way over to the control station and found what the sight had shown her, Nora curled up in a ball on the cold metal floor, arms wrapped around Dogmeat. She looked exhausted. Mama Murphy knew she'd been crying. As she approached Dogmeat, he lifted his head, and his tail thumped on the floor as he saw her. The noise woke Nora, who looked up, blinking in surprise at seeing her there.

-Nora-

The sound of Dogmeat's tail beating against the floor pulled Nora from her uneasy sleep. When she saw Mama Murphy smiling down on her with a look of relief on her face, she couldn't have been more surprised.

"Oh Mama, you shouldn't have come up here...it's dangerous." Nora was quick to get to her feet and hug the older woman.

"You hush, I walked all the way across the commonwealth, I'm just fine. It's you I'm worried about. Everyone is wondering where you are right about now." Mama Murphy told her as she wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm sorry," Nora sighed as she felt Mama Murphy's warm embrace, "I just had to get away. Marcy was screaming, Jun was yelling, and I ran like a coward. What happened after I left Mama?"

"Preston put himself in between them, Marcy didn't like it, she went back to her house, this morning Preston found it empty, she left sometime in the night we think, Jun is...well I believe Jun has finally made up his mind to go too."

This had been building, for how long Nora wasn't sure, all she knew was that she couldn't let them go without a fight, they certainly wouldn't be traveling together, she swallowed down the fear that threatened to swallow her when she thought of Marcy out there alone.

"I need to find them. I need to try and bring them back, Mama."

"Of course you do. I wouldn't expect anything less. Take Dogmeat with you. I don't imagine Jun will have gotten much farther than Concord, as far as Marcy goes....I don't think she's gone far either." Mama Murphy told her, "You go now; time isn't your friend. I'm going to stay up here and admire the view a little bit longer."

With Dogmeat at her side, Nora ran down the path to Sanctuary. Running by a startled but relieved Preston, she told him what she was going to do and where Mama Murphy was, asking him to make sure she got back home safely.

Stopping by her house long enough to grab her pistol and some extra ammo, she opted to leave her rifle behind for the sake of traveling faster, then back outside, and she was running towards Concord.

\--

She caught up with Jun by the Museum of freedom. She called out for him to stop and saw him freeze up. Clearly, he hadn't rehearsed a goodbye speech.

"You were just going to leave? Without saying goodbye?" she asked, putting herself directly in front of him, folding her arms across her chest, she winced at his broken nose and the bruising it left there, but despite the pain he must have been in, his eyes were clear, he looked determined.

"Nora, if yesterday is any indication of how things are, then I should have left a long time ago," he told her gently, "Sanctuary isn't home for me. I don't deserve to be there," He held up his hand as she opened her mouth to argue, "I know you think otherwise, but what you should be doing right now is finding Marcy, not wasting your time with me."

"And just where are you going to go, Jun?" Nora asked, "You say you don't deserve to live in Sanctuary. Just where does a man go when he doesn't deserve a home?"

Jun opened his mouth to speak but struggled with the words. Shaking his head, he offered her a half-hearted shrug, "I'll find a place, Nora, now...go find Marcy, don't worry about me," he offered her a disarming smile that she didn't trust and moved to walk around her but as he did he felt her arm grip his shoulder.

"Jun...are you going to kill yourself?"

The words hung heavy between them, and Jun lingered in silence for just a moment too long. Nora gripped his shoulder tighter and pushed him back so she could look in his eyes.

"Jun..." she repeated. "Are you going to kill yourself?" gripping his chin, she gently turned it, so he was looking into her eyes, "Answer me, Jun..."

She watched him search her eyes and then try to turn his head away, but she wouldn't let him, "No..." he said softly, gritting her teeth. Nora pulled him into a tight hug.

"Promise me!" she demanded as her voice broke, "P-Promise me you're not going out there to die! Promise me you're not going to kill yourself!" Rather than respond, Jun put his arms around her and held her close, "I-If you think no one cares, then you're w-wrong!" Nora cried, "I care! I want you to be happy! You deserve to find happiness. You deserve to live!"

She was startled when she looked at him and saw tears spilling down his cheeks, "I"m so glad I got to meet you Nora, That day in Concord, I'd given up, then you stepped through that door like a bright shining beacon of hope, and despite the odds, you delivered us to Sanctuary, you gave us all a second chance, I...I promise Nora. I promise you I won't waste that second chance." he vowed, pressing his forehead to hers, "I hope you find your son Nora, and I promise you, if we meet again and I'm in the position to help you, I'll do everything in my power to help you find him."

They stood like that, foreheads pressed together, sharing their mutual pain until Jun pulled back, collecting himself, "Now, I need you to leave me and go find Marcy, she's not going to last out there on her own Nora, she may be angry but don't let her push you away, even if you have to raise your voice, she trusts you, and once she realizes this was a misunderstanding, she'll listen to you."

"I will, Jun, I promise, I'll find her and bring her back home." Nora wiped at her eyes. She watched Jun looking thoughtful, and then his face broke out in a serene smile.

"She has the most beautiful laugh. I hope you can find "That" Marcy one day Nora, you'll know it when you hear it, so full of life and love if anyone can bring "That" Marcy back, it's you." then giving her shoulder one final squeeze, he walked past her and towards whatever destiny waited for him out in the commonwealth.

Nora watched him go, wanting desperately to help him in some way, looking around she saw Dogmeat watching her with big brown eyes, she knelt by him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, he whined softly as if he understood what she was about to ask of him.

"Go with Jun," she whispered in the dog's ear, "Keep him safe just like you've kept me safe ok?" She pulled back, kissed the top of his furry head, and stood up. When he lingered by her side and cocked his head, she made a shooing gesture, "Quick now! go keep him safe!"

Dogmeat "Woof'd" softly and then ran after Jun. She watched as the dog raced to catch up with him and then fell into step, walking by his side, she was going to miss him desperately, but she wasn't about to let Jun leave alone.

Realizing she'd done everything she could for Jun, she turned her mind to Marcy, rechecking her pistol and making sure it was loaded. She began to run towards Abernathy Farm.

\--

Feeling disheartened, she left Abernathy farm. No one had seen Marcy there, though Lucy had promised her if she saw Marcy, she'd let her know immediately.

Walking through the field, she looked off in the distance and saw an old Cabin. Amazed the old Ranger Cabin was still standing after all these years, she grew hopeful, Surely Marcy would feel safe staying there.

She was passing an old rusted trailer in the middle of the field when she thought she heard a noise, a sniffle, and the sound of glass being knocked over, then; to her immense relief, she heard Marcy cursing softly.

"Marcy!" she called out, heading for the door.

"Go away!" Marcy fired back.

Nora stuck her head inside and saw Marcy huddled in the corner, in a sorry state.

"Oh, thank God..." Nora sighed in relief, ducking her head. She entered the trailer. Marcy looked disheveled, cold, not to mention a little drunk, judging by the empty beer bottles on the floor around her.

"I said...go away!" Marcy's anger was blunted by the alcohol but not gone entirely.

"I'm not going anywhere until..." Nora found herself cut off as Marcy struggled to her feet and raised her voice.

"Are you DEAF? I said, GO AWAY!" her eyes narrowed, and Nora felt her patience wavering. Jun had said to raise her voice if necessary.

"I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" she yelled back, her voice reverberating through the trailer. Marcy's eyes filled with shock and tears, and she staggered backward, falling on her backside, "I"m not going anywhere..." Nora repeated more gently this time, "Until we sort this shit out, Marcy."

Tears trickled down Marcy's cheeks, "What's there to sort out? You don't want me, and Jun is..."

"Jun is gone...he left this morning," Nora finished for her, "I don't know what happened between you two. God only knows I would listen if you wanted to talk to me about it, and as far as what "I" want? It's complicated, Marcy." sitting down in front of Marcy, she watched the anger drain out of the woman's face, but the hurt was still fresh in her eyes.

"I saw you two on the bridge..." she said, confused, "You were hugging him, I thought..."

"I was hugging him because he kept me from walking right into a fucking irradiated bear Marcy, a god damn Yao Guai or whatever the hell you call it, he saved my life, he helped me track down a Radstag and carry it back to Sanctuary with me, I was grateful," she watched Marcy's eyes widen in alarm at the mention of the Yao Guai, she could see in Marcy's eyes that she was beginning to entertain the notion that she may have been wrong.

"You said he's gone?" Marcy's shoulders sagged as if the weight of the burden she was carrying had somehow lessened. Shaking her head, she ran her fingers through her hair, frustrated, "I...I don't want him to die out there, Nora. I don't want him in my life, but...I don't want him to die!"

"I tried to stop him," Nora sighed, "But he'd been planning it for a while now, I think, yesterday just gave him the push he needed, I think. I sent Dogmeat with him, so he's not alone at least."

"You must think I'm the biggest Bitch," Marcy cried, covering her face with her hands.

"I think you're hurting, I think you're holding a lot inside, and I think you desperately need to talk to someone about it, Marcy, but I don't think you're a bitch, I know you're in pain, I know you're confused, looking at you is like looking into a mirror Marcy,"

"You said, you were c-confused, that you needed to sort things out..." Marcy said, lowering her hands from her face, "Were those things...about me?"

Nora wriggled across the floor till she was sitting next to Marcy, laying her head back against the wall; she was relieved when Marcy didn't pull away, "Yes, and No," she told Marcy, the look Marcy gave her was one of uncertainty "Let me start from the beginning ok?" reaching out she held her hand out to Marcy, she watched the woman look at her hand. After a moment of weighted silence, she tentatively reached out and put her hand in Nora's, closing her eyes. Nora savored the warmth of Marcy's hand. It gave her the strength to continue.

"I lived here in Sanctuary before the bombs dropped. You've probably gathered that by now, I had a Husband that I loved with all my heart, I also had a son, I hadn't known him long, but I loved him so much that it frightened me," she felt Marcy squeeze her hand, she understood Marcy knew that feeling well. "It wasn't an easy time for us. We were at war with another country, people were fighting and dying, China was threatening to drop bombs, and we threatened to do the same, both sides kept escalating the violence until they only had one option left."

Gesturing with one hand to the world around them, "You can probably guess how that turned out," she said with a bitter smile. Marcy squeezed her hand.

"I've got a pretty good idea, yeah," Marcy's smile was much like her own, "Please, keep talking,"

"The day the bombs fell, we were ushed into Vault 111, we didn't know what was waiting for us down there, but it was "Safe" that was what Vault-Tec had been drilling into our heads for years, "Safety" Vaults meant "You were safe from Nuclear annihilation" Vaults meant you "We're prepared for the future!" We were led deeper inside to these pods...they told us it was a decontamination chamber to purge us of any radiation before we went deeper into the Vault. It was cold in there, Marcy, so cold, that alone should have set off warning bells..."

"You were scared...you'd been told it was safe." Marcy's voice was soothing now. Nora nodded in agreement.

"Nate took Shaun into his pod, I got into mine...and then the bastards froze us, Marcy. It didn't even register until it was too late, and then? I guess the world went to hell while we slept. I don't know what happened. I don't know how long we were under. The next thing I remember, I was coming awake, coughing, disoriented. To me, it was like only a few minutes had passed. I watched as two people came up to Nate's pod. One was wearing a radiation suit, the other was..." Nora shivered, "He was dressed in leather, carrying a gun...t-they opened Nate's pod...tried to take Shaun, he was disoriented, but he refused to let go of our son, he fought with everything he had until that bastard shot him in the head!"

Marcy put her arm around Nora as she heard the woman's voice break, and the tears began to fall. Remembering she'd vowed to never leave Nora alone in her grief again, she shifted so she could put her arms around her.

"They ripped my son out of his arms, that Bald bastard came right up to my cryo pod, looked right into my eyes while I was screaming, pounding on the glass, said something...."At least we still have the back up" I think he said, and then it got cold again. I don't know how long I was out, but it was only due to a malfunction when the Pod finally opened. Vault-Tec had never intended to let us out, or if they had, they couldn't because everyone was dead. The Vault was a god damned tomb Marcy. My husband was dead. My neighbors were dead, everyone who'd gone into the Vault...d-dead! The Vault security, the scientists, the Vault Overseer? it looked like they'd killed each other trying to get out."

"Oh, Nora..." Marcy sighed as Nora lay her head on her shoulder, "I"m so sorry."

"I barely felt alive until I found Preston and all of you in Concord. You all have been the best things to happen to me since I woke up. You've given me a sense of purpose, a sense of family, a sense of..." she looked at Marcy, struggling to find the words, "A sense of something I never thought I was going to feel again."

Marcy had been listening intently, but that got her attention.

"That night I held you down by the river, I wanted to comfort you, but I never thought how much that closeness would mean to me, how badly I needed it too," Nora sighed. "The first night you got into bed with me was probably the best night of sleep I'd had in my life, and then you came back the next night, and then I would wait up and listen for the sound of the front door opening, and by that time it what we were doing was comforting, but it also started feeling....intimate."

"Y-Yes," Marcy agreed softly, not daring to say anything more.

"And that's when I started to get scared," Nora confessed, "I'd wake up with your hand on my hip, and my heart would start beating faster, I'd wonder what it would feel like if your hand went a little lower, or maybe a little higher," Nora blushed "I'd wake up with our faces so close together and wonder how you'd react if I leaned in and kissed you, my mind would go one way, but my heart would wonder if I was cheating on the memory of my husband."

And just like that, the pieces fell into place for Marcy. She finally had her answer, and knowing it made her feel heartless for how she'd been acting.

"And it scared me because I've never been with a woman before, let alone had these feelings for a woman, I never thought I would feel this way, and I didn't know what to do, and all that pressure built up in my mind...and then that night...and you were....and I wanted to...but I was afraid of...." Nora pressed her face into Marcy's neck, "And then you were gone!"

"Nora..." Marcy put her arms around the woman and hugged her tight, "If I'd had any idea what you were feeling, I would never have pushed you, I would never have left, I gave into my fears, there's so much I need to tell you...so much you deserve to know, about my issues and my insecurities, I was...I was trying to work up the courage to get closer to you, I was feeling those same things, I was afraid to open myself up like that again, and when you cried, I was so ready to think it was a rejection that I wouldn't even stop to think if it was anything else, this is...this is my fault, Nora."

"It's on both of us, Marcy," Nora sighed. "We tried to start a fire with gasoline rather than rubbing two sticks together. Do you think we can start over?" Nora asked her, lifting her head from Marcy's shoulder. "Assuming this is is still something we both want?" 

"It is, of course, it is Nora."

"Will you please come home with me? I really don't want to spend another night without you."

"Gladly," Marcy sighed. Nora would never know how much hearing those words meant to her. They stood up on shaky legs and made their way out into the sunshine. Going home had never sounded so good to Marcy. The fact Jun was no longer in Sanctuary troubled her, but the immense weight she felt lifted from her chest to know that she never had to see him again made her heart feel lighter already.

"I'll stop by tonight," Marcy embraced her and put her forehead against Nora's, closing her eyes, "I'll tell you what happened with Jun, why I feel the way I do...I'll tell you everything, ok?"

"I'll look forward to it, Marcy...I just want you to know that..."

She was caught off guard by a dry, rasping, hateful growl that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, spinning around; she watched four humanoid-shaped creatures dressed in tattered remains of clothing making their way towards them.

"NORA! Ghouls!" Marcy shrieked, "Run! RUN!"

The ghouls zeroed in on them. The other three echoed the first ghouls cry and then charged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lot of dialogue in this one, Jun and Dogmeat are departing (Sorry Anony but Dogmeat will ok I promise) but Jun is far from done in my ambitious story.


	22. I want you to know.

-Nora-

Nora froze at the sight of the ghouls. Just when she'd thought she'd seen every possible monster the commonwealth could throw at her, it belched up a new horror.

She was dimly aware of Marcy tugging at her arm, screaming at her to run. The ghouls weren't moving like the Zombies in the old Holotapes she and Nate used to watch. They were terrifyingly fast; finally, Marcy's words penetrated her brain, and she turned and ran.

The Ranger cabin beckoned in the distance, and Nora figured they could put solid walls between them and the Ghouls if they could get there in time, but as she ran, she heard the dry rasping howls grow closer. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw they were almost right on top of them.

Spinning, she raised her pistol, putting herself between the threat and Marcy, aiming at the closest target she fired. The shots hit chest level in a tight grouping that would have made Nate proud. The ghoul staggered backward but didn't fall. The other three ran past it, and one slammed into her.

Nora felt like she'd been hit "by" a brick wall as she crashed to the ground, her ribs protested, and pain blossomed in her side. Then she was fighting the howling creature, trying to prevent it's filthy nails and teeth from tearing her throat out, its breath was full of rot and decay, making her stomach churn and her eyes water, she heard Marcy's pipe pistol firing, but the rounds never landed near their intended targets, she heard Marcy cry out as a Ghoul tackled her to the ground.

Looking over, Nora saw Marcy raise her arms, desperately trying to fend off the creature, then heard the snap of Marcy's arm and her high pitched scream of agony as the ghoul wrenched it out of the way and began raking its nails across her stomach.

((I"m going to die....we're going to die! After everything I've been through, it's going to end like this)) Nora thought to herself with surprising Clarity. She tried to raise her gun to shoot the creature that was ravaging Marcy, trying to give Marcy at least a chance to get up and run when she heard a man shouting, the ghoul on top of her jerked its head towards the noise, Nora heard a whistling sound and then an arrow buried itself in the ghouls head.

Throwing the dead creature off her, Nora aimed her pistol at the ghoul on top of Marcy. She shot it in the head, breathing a sigh of relief as it slumped dead, rolling over and ignoring the burning pain in her ribs; she shoved it off Marcy, then sitting up she watched two arrows thud into another ghouls throat and then head, the last one she finished off with her pistol.

"Marcy! Honey, it's ok!" she tried to calm the frightened woman who was thrashing back and forth, fighting on pure instinct now. She was frightened by the glazed over look in Marcy's eyes. She was so distracted she didn't even notice their savior till he shook her shoulders.

"Hey! Vault Suit! If you want me to help, hold her down so I can get this StimPak in her arm, ok? You hear me?"

Nora nodded, her pain momentarily forgotten; she held Marcy down, trying to steady Marcy so she wouldn't thrash around so much. After a few attempts, she heard the sound of the Stimpak being injected, and Marcy jerked at the sensation. Her struggling ceased though her eyes kept moving around wildly.

"Marcy? Sweetheart? Can you hear me?" Nora's voice cracked as she tried to get through to her. The wild, helpless look in her eyes was terrifying.

"She's in shock," the man told her, cupping Nora's cheek in one hand. He turned her head in his direction, "She's in shock," he repeated, making sure she understood, "And you are halfway there. I need you to keep your head on shoulders and stay with me. We need to get her back to the cabin so I can get something on this," he gestured to Marcy's bleeding stomach, "Now help me clean her up Vault Suit, and talk to me while you do it so I know I'm not losing you."

Nora let his voice pull her away from the hysteria that was threatening to crawl its way out of her throat. She watched him as he pulled a can of purified water out of his pack and a couple of clean cloths, passing one to her. Opening the can, he poured it over Marcy. They worked together gingerly, cleaning the blood away.

She snuck glances at him as they worked and was surprised at how young he looked. His voice, though, commanded her attention. The confidence in it belonged to someone far older. Looking at Marcy as they worked, she hissed as she saw the gouges the nails had left in Marcy's flesh, but her young friend didn't seem as shocked as she was.

"She's going to have scars," he promised, "But what we need to worry about is these cuts getting infected, Ghouls are filthy, and if we don't get her back so I can get something on these, she's going to be in trouble."

Nora's mind worked to process what he was saying, but she couldn't help but recognize his voice. The fog was too thick in her mind at the moment to remember where or when she'd heard it last.

Hastily bandaging Marcy's stomach, they coaxed Marcy into standing. With Nora whispering words of encouragement in her ear, they got her moving slowly to the cabin. By the time they made it through the door and got Marcy laid down on a bed, Nora sagged and slumped down as the pain in her ribs, letting her know it would no longer be ignored. The young man looked down at her with alarm, watching as her hand clutched her side.

"Jesus Vault Suit, why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" he knelt in front of her reaching for a StimPak from his bag, concerned brown eyes met hers.

"M-Marcy was more important..." she grit her teeth as he injected the Stimpak into her side, her eyes going wide as it felt like a wave of ice spread through her side. The cold brought a wave of relief from the pain, and without that clouding her mind, she was able to think clearly.

"Don't be a hero," he frowned at her, "If you're out there trying to save her life and you're in too much pain to help her properly, then you're both dead, understand? If it's serious? Take care of yourself first, and "Then" help her, ok? and above all else, always remain calm."

"I understand," she nodded, looking around the cabin, she noticed it was surprisingly clean, holes in the wall and ceiling had been boarded over, he'd clearly been here for several months, looking around she saw tables full of flowers and dried herbs, what looked like homemade soap on another table, animal hides and more dried meat than he could eat on his own, everything was in perfect order, except for his hair, it seemed wild, untamed, down past his shoulders, it appeared of all the things he owned a brush wasn't among them.

He helped her to her feet, and they went about caring for Marcy when out of the blue, she realized who he was. The last note she'd received had been addressed to "Vault Suit."

"Alex?" she asked him as they removed the bandages from Marcy's chest, the bleeding had stopped, but the wounds were already turning an angry red color.

"Shit..." he cursed, seeing the infection. Turning to one of his tables, he unscrewed a jar and began to apply an ointment to the cuts, Nora helping as best she could. He suddenly looked up at her realizing she'd said his name.

"Lexxi has been worried sick about you, Marcus too," Nora said as they covered Marcy's wounds, "I was wondering if we were ever going to meet our elusive gift giver."

After Marcy was bandaged, Alex sat down heavily in a chair and lay his head against the back of it. She watched in confusion as his confidence seemed to melt away and was replaced by a more fearful look.

"I guess then we need to re-evaluate our relationship then, eh?" he asked nervously.

"What do you mean?" she asked him as she stretched out on the bed next to Marcy.

"Back in the museum, you spared my life, but you told me if you saw me again, I was dead. You haven't tried to murder me yet, so I'd like to think that maybe we can both walk away from this situation when it's over?"

Nora nodded as all the assumptions she'd made about him were proven right. He "was" the raider she'd let go from The Museum, "Alex, do you think I would hurt you after everything you've done for us?" she asked him, "After you helped me in the church? Left us food so we wouldn't starve? After you helped me? and Marcy?"

Alex looked at her carefully, trying to gauge if she was serious, "Lady, you killed every raider I was with that was between you and the Minutemen. You spared me before Hopping into a suit of power armor and killing the rest of the group AND Gristle. When a Deathclaw popped up, well, you killed that too. I was hiding from "you" in the church when you came in and started yelling at someone. I thought you were yelling at me before I realized you were talking to "Him," he said, pointing a finger to the sky, "I thought you were some killing machine that had been activated in a Vault somewhere and sent to kill the Raider population of the commonwealth! So yes, it's safe to say I'm a little afraid of you."

Nora had thought he was joking, but that calm demeanor and the confident voice he'd been using were giving way to something more vulnerable and afraid.

Reaching out, she sighed and ran her hand through Marcy's hair. The woman had fallen into an exhausted sleep, and Nora was grateful she no longer had that wild-eyed look of fear on her face.

"Alex, I'm not going to hurt you, I swear, look the woman you saw that day? She was scared and running on adrenaline, she was acting out of instinct and necessity, before that day I'd never seen her before, what I was doing? It scared me too because it was so unlike me."

"I'm having a little bit of a hard time believing that Vault Suit."

"Alex, the last time I saw you, I'd been above ground one day. I'd watched my husband get murdered right in front of me. Someone steal my baby. I was running on pure emotion at the time. Before the bombs fell, I was a lawyer, a housewife. I only knew how to shoot a gun because my husband taught me. When I saw what was going on in Concord, I was scared, but I couldn't just let it happen. Yes, I did kill those raiders in the museum. Still, I only got the drop on them because none of them saw me coming. I only killed Gristle and the rest because I had Power Armour and firepower on my side, Same with the Deathclaw, and even then, he hurt me worse than I'd ever been hurt in my life."

Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to Marcy's forehead.

"The woman you saw in the church? Yelling at "Him" that was closer to the real me, tired, hurt, scared, overwhelmed," taking a good look at him she smiled, "And you helped me anyway, for someone who was so afraid you just could have left after I passed out, you didn't have to stop and give me a Stimpak, you didn't have to cover me up with a blanket."

"I"m afraid of a lot of things, Vault Suit, but when I'm working, my hands never shake," Alex shrugged, "I saw you hurting, and I wasn't about to stand by and do nothing, after that? I wandered a bit, found this cabin, fixed it up, realized you had set up shop in Sanctuary, and I realized...that I had a debt to pay, so I kept my distance, helped out how I could."

"That sounds Lonely Alex, sitting up here by yourself."

"It is, and it isn't," Alex told her, "I haven't been "Alone" for six years. I fell in with the Raiders when I was sixteen. It was noise, chaos, bad times, coming out here, having this place to myself, I've been able to hear myself think," he smiled.

"I can respect that Alex, let's just be clear on a couple of things. You don't ever have to be afraid of me, You have no debts to us that need to be paid, and you'd be more than welcome in Sanctuary."

"That's....good to hear Vault Suit. I think I understand you a lot better now, you sound too good to be true, but I'll take you at your word."

Nora was relieved to see his anxiety melting away, "Oh, and my name is Nora, but to be honest, I like the nickname you gave me," she smiled at him, hoping to ease any tensions left between them, looking down at Marcy again she found herself stifling a yawn.

"You should rest, Nora," Alex told her, trying out her name, "I'll check on Marcy periodically, I'll wake you if something comes up, I promise."

Nora stretched out next to Marcy. The events of the last few days had caught up with her, and she was exhausted. She briefly thought of Jun and Dogmeat out there in the commonwealth and hoped they were safe. Putting an arm around Marcy, she lay her head on the pillow next to her and whispered softly in Marcy's ear. It felt good to be back in a bed with her, to hold her. She just hoped Marcy would come out of this in one piece and would want to hold her again too.

-Marcy-

Marcy faded in and out of nightmares, Ghouls attacking, the snap of her arm, so loud in her ears, the pain of the ghoul trying to rip her stomach open, Nora's screams, the hopeless feeling that after everything she'd endured that she'd never get a chance to experience a life with Nora.

The pain had eased, Marcy heard voices, one she didn't recognize, the other belonging to Nora, she focused on Nora's voice for all she was worth, at one point she was moving, that brought pain, when they laid her down on a bed she imagined she must be back in Sanctuary, but she didn't hear any of the familiar sounds of her home.

More talking, someone laying down next to her, Nora's comforting scent and presence, Marcy focused on her voice like it was a tangible thing she could hold. She wanted so badly to move, put her arms around Nora, for Nora to hold her, feeling Nora's hands running through her hair was heavenly. Finally, the talking stopped. As if Nora had read her mind, Marcy felt her lay down and put her arm around her. She could have wept for that.

She could feel an unpleasant warmth in her stomach, it spread up and through her body, suddenly she was too hot, groaning she tried to push the covers off her, she heard bits and pieces of voices fading in and out.

"....Fever....was.....of this...." the unfamiliar voice spoke now closer to her ear.

"Must be....we.....do?" Nora's voice, fear, and concern.

"Something.....help.....drink....." Something was pressed to her lips, desperately thirsty she drank, something strange, herbal tasting, lukewarm, she sputtered a bit but kept it down.

"Going to be ok, Marcy...." Nora's voice, Marcy made a small noise and tried to lean into her, "I'm right here, Marcy, you're safe, everything is going to be ok, I p-promise."

Marcy wanted to open her eyes, but the heat was all-consuming now. Darkness was pulling at her, something in that drink? she wondered to herself before it overtook her.

\--

"That's what I love about you, Marcy. You'll never break," Alices voice in her ear, a playful sexy growl.

"Why?" Marcy cried out, "Why would you do that!"

\--

"You two have known each other since you were little," Alice's voice turning into her mother's voice, "You've both grown into such beautiful young women. I'm proud of you both. Take care of each other ok?"

"We will, mom!" Marcy called over her shoulder as they headed out the door.

\--

"Marcy? Marcy, I swear I'll make this right. You believe me don't you?" Jun's voice, desperate and pleading, tears in his eyes.

Marcy turned away from him and looked at her broken fingers all wrapped, placing her hands on her stomach in a protective gesture of the life growing inside of her; she glared at him.

"If you turn out to be half the manI thought you were, I'll be amazed," bitter venom flowed from her lips, "But I've got no choice now, do I? There's no one else left..."

\--

"Marcy? It's ok. I've got you, I"m not going to let go, just stay with me please..." Nora's voice, "I"m right here, don't cry, it's ok, you're safe." Marcy was crying, the heat was beginning to fade now, but that anguish she carried on her shoulders, told no one about, kept all to herself because it was her cross to bear, it weighed her down, she wept because she was so damn tired of being alone, having no one to help her carry this burden, But Nora's arms wrapped around her, reminding her that she wasn't alone. Marcy realizing this understood she didn't have to carry this burden alone. Nora would help her. Nora had always supported her, wonderful, unexpected, beautiful Nora.

These thoughts gave her strength. She wasn't alone. She would be ok, she would tell Nora everything, and then if Nora would still have her, she would cherish every day they had together, even if they just decided to be friends.

"I won't break..." she whispered.

"No, you won't..." Nora's relieved voice whispered back in her ear.

\--

Marcy became aware again, exhausted, still unable to open her eyes but more aware of what was around her now, she felt the bed shift, and Nora's soothing presence departed.

"Alex, can you watch her for now?"

"Of course, but what are you going to do, Vault Suit?"

"I'm Going to go find Preston, let him know what's going on. Those Ghouls came up from the old Wicked Shipping HQ," Marcy could hear simmering anger in Nora's words, "I"m going to get my rifle. Preston and I are going to clear those ghouls out of there once and for all if we have to burn that fucking place to the ground."

Something was comforting about that anger to Marcy. If Nora was angry, then Nora couldn't have been hurt as badly as she'd been hurt. Hearing the resolve in Nora's voice, Marcy vowed when she was recovered, she'd never allow herself to be caught off guard like that again.

"I'm starting to see that woman from the museum again, Vault Suit. You be careful ok?"

"I haven't seen that woman in a while, Alex, but I think those ghouls found her, those Ghouls SHOULD be afraid of me, and THEY do owe me a debt. I'll be back as soon as I collect it."

\--

"Nora, slow down," Preston called out. Nora stopped at the gates of Wicked Shipping and turned around with an impatient glance on her face. He hadn't seen her this worked up since Concord. "Look," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I know you want a fight right now, but we're not going in there until I know you're calm and your head is on straight,"

Nora took a deep breath. Of course, Preston was right. She certainly wasn't calm right now. She'd spent all night watching over Marcy, listening to the woman talk to ghosts in her sleep and cry. At the same time, she struggled to beat the fever. Seeing Marcy hurting on such a deep emotional level made Nora hurt, and it made her angry. That anger was going to fall squarely on the shoulders of the ghouls. Since she couldn't kill the ghoul that had hurt Marcy, she was going to kill every last one of them here so they wouldn't hurt anyone again.

"Now, unless you're in a suit of Power Armor, I wouldn't recommend taking Ghouls on face to face. You deal with them quietly, and from a distance, pick them off one by one, if there's a group of them and you've got a grenade? Even better," he informed her as they went through the gate, stopping her. He pointed to the withered body of a Ghoul laying under a shipping truck, "They like to play dead," he told her, cranking his Laser Musket to life, "But I bet you anything he's alive." Discharging his Musket, he hit the ghoul in the head. It gave a brief rasping cry, jerked, and then lay still.

"Aim for the head, Typical Zombie," she muttered to herself, absorbing that knowledge she and Preston went about purging Wicked Shipping of its Ghoul population. Nora couldn't put into words how much safer she felt with Preston by her side. Her movements were smooth, almost mechanical, the terror she'd felt before had been replaced by confidence and that still simmering anger. She coldly finished off a Ghoul that had been shot in the legs by approaching it and putting a bullet in its skull. Crippling ghoul's legs seemed to take the fight right out of them.

"Loud noises attract them," Preston told her, it's easy to get the drop on a Ghoul, but if you're unaware, it's easy for them to get the drop on you. If they charge you wait till they're almost on you and sidestep out of the way, easier said than done, but you get used to it," he promised her.

((And of course, Marcy and I were yelling and carrying on and making plenty of noise, no wonder they found so easily,)) Nora grit her teeth. This had almost been too easy. Her anger was nowhere near sated.

"Good scrap here, going to have to bring Sturges back with us to pick through it. Abernathy could probably use it as well," Preston chatted to her; happily, they both froze as they saw a lone ghoul swaying by the gate. Alerted by the noise, it looked around wildly. Preston raised his rifle to put it down. However, Nora put her hand on the barrel and pushed it away.

"HEY!" she called out to the ghoul.

The creature's head snapped up, zeroing in on her voice, with the same rasping howl that had so unnerved her earlier it began to charge at her, but this time Nora stood her ground as it drew closer at an alarming rate.

"Nora..." she heard Preston warn, still she held her ground unmoving as the ghoul prepared to lunge.

"Nora...Nora!" Preston shouted as the ghoul sprang at her. At the last second, she stepped aside, letting it sail harmlessly past her. Turning as it hit the ground, she took her Laser Musket and brought the stock down on the back of the creature's head as it began to rise.

The creature grunted and went down. Nora raised her rifle butt and brought it down on the ghouls head, again, and again, and again, until she was rewarded by the sound of its skull cracking, still unsatisfied she pummeled the creature, her teeth bared, Nora realized she was shouting, raging at the dead thing, somewhere in a quiet corner of her mind a small voice told her she needed to stop, but it was Preston's arms wrapping around her and pinning her own arms to her sides that made her drop the rifle, he whispered softly in her ear telling her she'd done good but that she needed to stop, that it was ok to stop, that Marcy was going to be ok and what happened wasn't her fault.

Nora could have wept listening to his sweet, gentle voice. Her anger diffused, she began to shake; she was overcome as her body shook. She had no tears left to shed after the past few days, so she turned in Preston's arms and buried her face in his chest, and let him hold her together lest she shake apart.

"It's ok, Nora," Preston soothed, "We all fall apart every now and then, I'll always pick you up and put you back together if you need me to."

"Thank you, Preston," Nora said when the shaking subsided, and she could trust her voice again, "Thank you for being my rock. If I didn't have you in my life right now, I think I would have gone fucking crazy out here."

"You can never have too many friends in the commonwealth," he stepped back and smiled at her. With a flourish, he took his hat off and plopped it on her head, a gesture that surprised her so much Nora couldn't help but laugh out loud. As the laughter escaped her lips, she began to feel more like herself.

She looked at his head, surprised to find him clean-shaven underneath. The sight of Preston without his hat was so foreign that she almost couldn't comprehend it. "Ok...uh uh," she said, taking his hat off her head and placing it back on his own, "Too weird for me, back on your head it goes, though we can't tell Sturges about this, this will be our little secret ok?"

Preston laughed, readjusting his hat, "I figured now that you knew what was under my hat, you'd at least be stunned for a minute or two," he told her as she bent to pick up her rifle.

"Oh, I was plenty stunned. I just needed to get it back on your head before the sun hit it just right and blinded me," she smirked.

"Oh, so that's how it is then? Jokes about my bald head? See if I ever take my hat off again for you," Preston said, putting an arm around her as they walked back to the cabin.

"Oh, you can take it off again, but only as a defensive measure if Raiders ever attack."

"Yes, ma'am," Preston snorted.

\--

Nora was relieved when she stepped back into the cabin and saw Marcy sitting up with Alex's help drinking water. Marcy's eyes went wide upon seeing her, and she reached out for her, tears beginning to fall.

"Nora!" she cried, laying her rifle down. Nora hurried into her arms and swept her up, "I"m sorry!" Marcy sobbed into her chest, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry for being such a fucking bitch! I'm sorry! Don't let go, please don't let go."

Alex excused himself as he stepped out of the room to give the two a moment of Privacy. He found Preston out on the porch.

"Alex, right?" Preston said, offering him his hand.

"That's right, seems like my name is a mystery to absolutely no one," Alex smiled ironically, "And here I thought I was being careful, you must be Preston,' he said, shaking the Minuteman's hand.

"Well, to be fair, I had intel. Nora's told me about all you've done for her and Marcy, and that you've been the one sending those Packages, she also told me why you've been sending them," Preston told him.

Alex flinched, "Look, Preston, Nora says I don't owe a debt, but...how could I not? I almost played a part in your deaths. How would ever trust me?" the guilt on his face was plain to see.

"I never saw you with a gun," Preston looked him in the eye, "By my understanding, you won't even touch them. Far as I"m concerned, you were never a Raider, just an "Unwilling participant" in their plans."

"Would you really let me into Sanctuary based on a loophole of logic?" Alex asked him.

"If I didn't already know that you were a good man? No, not on that alone. We put Lexxi and Marcus through a trial period to see if we could trust them. Based on what you've done, I'd say you've earned our trust, and If you want me to put it to a vote, then I'll bet you it's unanimous. Still, if you need time to think, or you're just not ready to rejoin a group yet, I can respect that," Preston told him, "But you can consider yourself welcome in Sanctuary if you decide to come."

Back inside, Marcy was resting her head on Nora's chest, listening to the sound of her heartbeat. Feeling calmer now, she lifted her head.

"I want to tell you now..." she began, "Tell you everything that happened, Why I can't stand the sight of Jun, why I am the way I am," she said, looking into Nora's eyes.

"Of course, Marcy," Nora smiled, cupping her cheek, "You know I'm here for you. I'll listen to whatever you have to say."

"You may think less of me by the time it's all said and done," Marcy sighed, "But you deserve to know the truth."

"There's nothing you can say that's going to scare me away, Marcy," Nora promised her.

"God, I hope that's true..." sighing deeply, Marcy lay her head down on Nora's shoulder and began to tell her tale.


	23. Marcy's Tale: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm excited and a little nervous to give you the first Part of Three chapters that center around Marcy and Jun's backstory. I hope by the end of this, you'll have a better feel for Marcy and a better understanding of why she feels the way she does. Also, this is probably the most NSFW chapter I've written so far, so yeah, that's a thing!

Marcy had grown up in Canavan, a Prosperous trading hub settlement a few hours away from Quincy. It was said two groups of traders who felt slighted by the prices they were getting in Quincy stumbled upon the quiet neighborhood of Canavan, mostly untouched by anything but time since the bombs fell, and decided to set up shop there, hoping to build a settlement to draw in business and slowly bleed profits from Quincy.

While their cut-throat business plan never amounted to revenge, their settlement did thrive. Having a hub just outside of Quincy drew Caravans to it like a Bloodbug to a Brahmin corpse. Whether they wanted to rest and restock before leaving for Quincy or coming from Quincy, they could always shop, drink, and relax there till it was time to move on.

Three generations later, the two scorned founding families had welcomed many more traders into the settlement. Business thrived. Despite the occasional rivalry between families or a dispute between partners, the caps flowing through the town were too good to pass up over a matter of pride.

Marcy grew up the daughter of one of the founding families. A bond of loyalty between the two had only grown stronger three generations later. Whatever conflict arose in Canavan saw Marcy's family and the Long family united.

From the time she could walk, Marcy followed in the footsteps of the two Long children, Alice, who would become her best friend, and Alice's older brother Jun, who would be Marcy's first kiss. The three were inseparable until Jun started spending more time on the road learning the Caravan trade from his father.

Tragedy would strike both families, first with Marcy losing her father Kyle to a heart attack on the road, then Alice and Jun's mother who had gone to bed one night and never woken up, Marcy's mother Diane would become the Parental figure for all three children, though she rarely saw Jun she welcomed him like a son when he was home, Alice she loved like her own daughter, and while Charles Long was almost always on the road, it didn't stop him from spoiling Marcy like his own daughter when he came back from his long trips to Diamond City or Bunker Hill.

Marcy learned the Sales trade from Diane. The two worked with Canavan's farming families to sell their goods in town or find a buyer headed for Quincy. Alice didn't possess the silver tongue of Marcy or her mother; however, she did have a mind for business. She was always interested in turning a profit, but Alice had a more dominant "hands-on" personality than Marcy, and when it came time to load a wagon to send it off, she was always willing to help.

To everyone in Canavan, residents, and visitors alike, the two families were the living inspiration of how business and partnerships should be conducted, They never saw disaster coming, and in the end, no one would know, let alone understand what exactly it was that tore the two families apart.

No one but Marcy, Jun, and Alice.

\--

"We're finished with the Wagon, mom!" Marcy called out as she and Alice entered through the back of the store, "Did you need anything else?" she asked as she stuck her head into her mother's office where she was processing the day's caps and paperwork, "If not, I'm going to spend the night at Alice's ok?"

Diane stood up and smiled, leaving her office; she took in the sight of the tired-looking sweat-stained young women and shook her head, "I don't know what I would do without the two of you, you know that?" she embraced Marcy kissing the top of her head, and then swept Alice into her arms, her smile broadened as Alice turned her head up for a kiss on the cheek which she was happy to give her, she frowned a bit when she noticed Alice felt a little off, "You ok Ali? you feel tense."

Marcy covered up a small snicker by turning her head away and coughing.

"Just some stiff muscles, nothing a long soak in the tub won't fix, I promise," as Diane hugged Alice, Alice's eyes turned to Marcy, and Marcy saw she was going to be in trouble when they got back home.

"Alright, off with you, just make sure you two eat something healthy for dinner, alright?"

"Oh my god, mom! we're nineteen years old, not twelve!" Marcy groaned. "We know about proper nutrition!"

"Don't worry. I'll make us something nice for dinner. I won't just let her eat snack cakes," Alice reassured Diane as they went to leave.

"I don't eat just snack cakes," Marcy grumbled.

"Yeah? Tell that to the junk in your trunk," Alice brushed past Marcy on her way to the door.

"You bitch! there is nothing wrong with the size of my ass!" Marcy protested as they headed for the door.

Diane smiled as the two headed for the door, "Now, Now," she called after them, "You two have known each other since you were little, you've both grown into such beautiful young women, I'm proud of you both, take care of each other ok?"

"We will, mom!" Marcy called over her shoulder as they headed out the door.

\--

Alice and Marcy walked down the street, arm in arm. Those that saw them smiled and waved to the best friends. Young men cast envious and sometimes longing glances in their direction. It was no secret that neither young woman was in a committed relationship. It was no secret that every eligible young man in town wanted to fill that role, but for the luckiest of young men who had caught the eye of Marcy or Alice, the only consolation had been one date and a chaste kiss on the cheek at the end of said date.

"So, how are those back muscles?" Marcy teased as they turned off the street and headed up the pathway to the house Alice lived in with her brother and father. Alice reached for the key to unlock the front door without saying a word. Marcy's grin only broadened.

Following her inside, Marcy turned to shut the door and lock it. No sooner had she turned around then Alice slammed her up against the door, her lips claiming Marcy's in a heated kiss, the kind of kiss that could only come from one with pent up sexual aggression after being teased all day. Marcy's shirt was yanked up. She felt Alice's hands reaching under it and greedily fondling her bare breasts underneath, pinching and rolling her nipples with the same unbridled energy she was showing Marcy's lips.

((Yesss!)) Marcy grinned as she opened her mouth to welcome Alice's invading tongue.

"You teasing Bitch! I KNEW you weren't wearing a bra!" Alice growled after breaking the kiss.

Marcy knew she was in for it now, and she'd be damned if she hadn't wanted it any other way. Perhaps she had loosened her belt, so her pants rode a little lower, maybe she had stretched several times throughout the day, letting her shirt ride up a little higher before "Innocently" tucking it back into her pants, maybe she'd even brushed up against Alice a few times, pressing her chest into Alice's back hard enough to let her know she wasn't wearing a bra, her mother had been none the wiser, but she'd been stoking a fire in Alice all day.

"Shirt...off...now!" Alice growled. Marcy hurried to obey, yanking the shirt off over her head and tossing it to the floor. Watching Alice size her up like a Yao Guai sizing up its prey, she shivered in Anticipation, "Turn around, hands on the door," Alice ordered. Marcy turned, placing her hands on either side of the door. Alice was quick to move behind her. Her hands found Marcy's belt and made short work of removing it. Her pants and underwear were yanked down, pooling at her feet.

Marcy turned her head to say something smart but yelped when Alice brought her hand down over Marcy's bottom. The blow stung and sent shivers up and down her spine. "Alice! They'll hear us!" she whimpered, not trusting the door to muffle any noises she made.

Alice pressed herself close to Marcy, pulling Marcy's tied back hair firmly in her hand; she leaned in, "Then you better be quiet like a good girl, think you can be a good girl at least once today?" she purred in Marcy's ear.

"M-Maybe...." she bit back another yelp as Alice's hand struck her bottom again.

"What was that?"

"Y-Yes! I'll be quiet!" Marcy groaned and then had to muffle another yelp as Alice smacked her backside again for good measure.

"Hmmm," Alice massaged the stinging skin of her bottom with her hands, "Now what to do with you? You know if I was feeling spiteful, I could have you stand in front of an open window while I do this," she said thoughtfully, dragging her nails up the front of Marcy's chest she returned her attention to her breasts and Nipples, squeezing and tugging, between the cool air on her exposed skin, the rough handling from Alice and the stinging of her backside Marcy's head was already beginning to spin. "Can you imagine how fast all the boys would line up outside to watch if I did that?" leaning down, she bit Nora's shoulder, not hard enough to draw blood but firmly enough to mean business.

"Buuuuut no," Alice continued after a moment of thought, "Because that would mean I'd have to share all of this," she sighed, running her hands up and down the front of Marcy, "And I really don't like to share," she added pulling Marcy back against her body possessively, "So instead I'm going to do whatever it is I want to you, and you're going to be my good little girl and be as quiet as you can be because if someone hears you making noise and knocks on the door, I will make you answer it naked as you are now."

Marcy shivered as she felt Alice spread her legs further apart with her feet. 

"So, who are you going to be?" Alice asked her dragging her nails over the curve of Marcy's backside.

"I-I'm going to be your g-good girl," Marcy sighed as she felt Alice's fingers between her legs ghosting over where she needed to be touched.

"And what are you going to do?" Alice asked as she began to slide her fingers up and down Marcy's sensitive folds.

"I'm g-going to be nice and q-quiet," she stuttered. She braced herself against the door and let Alice have her way with her. Four years of intimacy with this woman had resulted in both of them knowing how to play each other's bodies like a fiddle. When Alice's fingers slipped inside of her, it was for brief, delicious intervals when Marcy's knees began to tremble. She'd stop. If Marcy's made a noise that she thought was too loud, she'd reward with a stinging slap to her backside, all the while she struggled to remain quiet as the pain and pleasure mixed and lit up the nerves of her body in ways that only Alice's hands could accomplish.

"A-Alice...Please...." Marcy panted.

"Mmm? What is it tease?" she could hear the smile in Alice's voice.

"C-close..."

"Oh, and you think after the way you've behaved today I should let you come?" 

"Y-yes?"

Heaving an exaggerated sigh, Alice made a show of pretending to think it over. "I suppose you have been a good girl for me, and you've been quiet enough that no one has knocked on my door....hmmm, ok you can come, as long as you tell me how very sorry you are for teasing me all day," she said as her fingers continued to work their magic.

Marcy shuddered so hard her teeth clicked together, but a shaky grin spread across her lips, "N-Not....Not sorry!" she half moaned, half giggled."

Alice heaved another sigh, "Turn around, you giggly little tart," as Marcy turned on legs that would barely respond, she saw Alice grinning up at her, cupping her cheek; she kissed Marcy firmly and then leaned in, nibbling on her earlobe, "That's what I love about you Marcy. You'll never break," Alices voice in her ear a playful sexy growl, "Now come for me, my little tease, you can be as loud as you want, I'll muffle the noise," she promised as her fingers went back to work.

Marcy groaned as Alice brought her closer and closer with no intention of stopping this time, clinging to Alice, she felt herself beginning to come undone, as she cried out, Alice kissed her, muffling the sound of an orgasm that was anything but quiet.

\--

When Marcy became aware of herself again, she was kneeling on the floor by the door with Alice in front of her looking very pleased with herself.

"You going to make it?"

"Uh....uh-huh," Marcy blissfully sighed.

"Alright, you get cleaned up and get dressed. I'm going to go start on dinner,", Giving her one last kiss. Alice stood up and headed for the kitchen.

"Mmmmk," Marcy waved at her retreating back, getting up; she grabbed her clothing and made her way to the bathroom on rubbery legs.

\--

Feeling cleaner and thinking clearer Marcy entered the kitchen to find Alice at work, stirring something over the stove. Slipping her arms around her waist from behind, she rested her chin on Alice's shoulder and nuzzled her neck, kissing it.

"Hmmm, sucking up now?" Alice smiled up at her.

"Maybe a little," Marcy sighed.

"You seem to be speaking with actual words now. That's a plus."

When dinner was ready, they sat down at the table to eat. Alice smiled as she saw Marcy wincing as she sat down.

"Problem?" she asked, daring Marcy to say something.

"Not at all," Marcy returned her smile, "Just...getting comfortable."

For a moment, Alice's smile slipped. Clearing her throat, she looked at Marcy with concern. "Uh...Marcy? I uh...didn't hurt you, did I? I know I can get carried away sometimes, but...you know I want to make you jump...but I don't want to hurt you, right?"

"Alice, if you'd hurt me, I wouldn't be sitting here having dinner with you, "And if I hadn't wanted what you gave me, then I certainly wouldn't have spent all day trying to wind you up in the first place would I? I'm a tough girl, you're not going to break me with a few slaps."

Alice's expression was one of relief, "Alright, I just wanted to make sure."

"I trust you, Alice," Marcy continued, "You've always been my best friend, so it's been easy to trust you, I admit I was never expecting us to turn into what we are now, but I'm happy it happened because it's you I'm doing these things with."

And Marcy did trust her. The things they'd done together would probably fuel the town gossip for months if found out, but what happened between them never left the house, and while Marcy had been pushed beyond her boundaries of what she'd imagined was "Acceptable" since that first kiss four years ago, she'd been all too happy to leave her comfort zone, as long as it was with Alice.

With dinner finished, they cleaned up the kitchen in comfortable silence. When the chores were finished, Marcy caught Alice's eye.

"Dessert?" she asked Alice.

'Mmmm, I suppose I could find a few snack cakes around here if that's what you were craving."

"I was thinking of something else..." Marcy said with a smile, taking Alice by the hand and leading her down to the bedroom in the basement where they didn't have to worry about being quiet.

\--

"Ohhh shit....Marcy...." Alice panted as Marcy's tongue worked to clean the wetness between her legs, Marcy hadn't prolonged Alice's pleasure as long as Alice had tortured her that afternoon, but she knew enough about Alice by now that she could draw it out long enough to make Alice's head spin. Pleased with herself, she kissed her way back up Alice's body just as slowly as she'd kissed her way down, pausing to give each of Alice's aching nipples a loving kiss before pressing her lips to Alices, Alice responded, but Marcy could tell her friend was spent.

"Good dessert?" Alice asked her as Marcy rolled off of her and lay next to her, pulling up the covers around them before the air could cool their heated skin, "Better than a snack cake, I hope?"

"Much better," Marcy agreed as she lay a hand on Alice's stomach.

"Shame it's a dessert you can only have here. I doubt your mother would approve of you eating it at her table after dinner," Alice snickered.

"Oh my god, Alice! I don't even want that mental image! is nothing sacred to you?" Marcy gasped as her cheeks burned.

"Very little is sacred to me. You should know that by now, though I do enjoy making you blush."

"At my mother's table..." Marcy muttered as she snuggled up closer to Alice under the covers. She lay her head on Alice's shoulder and made a sleepy noise as Alice began to run her fingers through her hair. She felt safe and wanted in Alice's arms. Out of all the things Marcy had in life, those feelings were what she valued most.

"Admit it," Alice said after a few moments of peaceful silence. "If you did do it, you know you'd ask me for seconds."

"ALICE!"

Ok! Ok! I'm done, I promise!" Alice giggled. She stroked Marcy's hair for a few more minutes before looking down, "Hey...got something to tell you." she said. Marcy looked up, hearing the hesitance in her voice.

"What is it?" she asked, propping herself up on her elbow.

"I got a letter yesterday. Dad and my Brother are coming home in a couple of days. He asked me if you were seeing anyone..." Alice said with a smirk, "I think he's interested in courting you."

"Jun??" Marcy's face lit up at the mention of her childhood friend. Her stomach began to flutter with a nervous kind of energy.

"No, my "Other" brother, Alvin, the black sheep of the family, we have to hide him from the light of day because he's part mole-rat!" Alice rolled her eyes, "Of course, Jun! You know Jun as in your first kiss? The same Jun you used to snuggle up to when we were kids? I swear I had to pry you two apart with a stick if I wanted to spend any time with either of you back then, so are you interested?" 

"YES! I mean, yes, of course, I am, but where does that leave us?" Marcy asked, looking into Alice's eyes with concern.

"You don't worry about that, my little tease," Alice said, brushing off her concerned look, Jun will be home for lengthier stretches sure, but when he goes back out on the road, I'll be here to remind you that you're still my good little girl," Alice promised her with a wicked grin, "All you need to do is work hard on wooing him, and then popping out a couple of babies for him," Alice said poking her bare stomach and tickling her.

"Alice!" Marcy giggled, slapping at her hand. "Pop them out, huh? Just as simple as that.

"Oh yeah, They just pop right out!" Alice grinned, poking her some more. I've watched enough Brahmin give birth to know alllll about it," she grinned at the incredulous look on Marcy's face.

"ALICE! I am NOT a Brahmin! I cannot believe you!" Marcy couldn't help but giggle as Alice continued tickling her.

"So are you interested? Huh? Huh?" Alice asked as she continued to tickle Marcy.

"If I say yes will you STOP tickling me???" Marcy laughed, swatting at her hands.

"I'll do you one better," Alice said as she paused, "You say yes, and I'll slip under these covers and show you what I was going to do to you if you HADN'T been a bad girl and teased me all day," Alice said licking her lips.

"Mmmm, Then Yes, I am interested, Alice...but only, and I mean ONLY if it's not going to make things awkward between us," she said, cupping Alice's cheek in her hand.

"It won't, Marcy," Alice reassured her.

"Promise?"

"I promise," Alice leaned in and kissed her firmly, "Now be my good girl and relax for me, ok? No more worries."

Marcy sighed and closed her eyes as Alice vanished under the covers and kissed her way down her body till she found what she was looking for, shivering as she felt Alice give her a few teasing licks, she opened her eyes as she felt Alice pause and pull back, "Hey Marcy?" Alice asked, her voice muffled from under the covers.

"Y-Yes Alice?" Marcy lifted the covers to hear her better.

"MMMMOOOO!" Alice laughed from between her legs.

"Oh, you BITCH!" Marcy giggled and then groaned as the noise sent vibrations up her legs and right to the center of her, "I am N-NOT a Brahmin!"

To her credit, by the time Alice came back up for air licking her lips and looking pleased with herself, Marcy didn't care who or what she was.


	24. Marcy's Tale: Part 2

"Annnnd done!" Alice smiled, stepping back from Marcy's hair.

"Stand up! Stand up! let us see!" Diane said eagerly.

"Mom geez...it's not a big deal" Marcy stood up, rolling her eyes and turning to face them.

"It is a big deal!" Diane countered, "You're wearing a dress! I can count on one hand all the times you've worn a dress. Jun isn't going to know what hit him!"

Marcy didn't know why Alice let it slip to her mom that Marcy was courting Jun. She expected Alice wished to irritate her in some way. Still, it did get Diane excited, it wasn't every day she got to "Beautify" her daughter, and if it made her happy, then Marcy supposed she could.

She felt so awkward in the yellow sundress, her legs felt exposed, she feared a breeze would lift the fabric, and the whole damn settlement would get an eyeful. She longed for the security of her pants and the familiar comfort of one of her shirts.

"We "Do" make a good team." Diane agreed, hugging Alice with one arm. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at her daughter, and Marcy can't help but smile with her. It's rare to see this look on her mother's face, "Give us a spin, Marcy!"

"I am not spinning Mother," Marcy folded her arms across her chest.

"She's afraid that if she moves too fast, her dress will ride up, and everyone will see her ass," Alice stage whispered to Diane.

"Alice..." Marcy sighs. "Hey, how come "You're" not wearing a dress?" she asked, trying to draw the attention from her to Alice. She hoped her mother would latch onto this idea and "Beautify" Alice next.

"Because one of us..." Alice smirked, "Is trying to impress my brother and have his babies, and one of us is just going to be happy to see her brother home safe and sound...IF he brought me a present, of course."

"Alright, you two, they should be back soon. Why don't you head outside and wait? I'll join you in a couple of minutes," Diane shooed them outside, and much to her chagrin, Marcy was out in the big wide world in her silly little sundress.

Alice was pleased in her own teasing way with Marcy's discomfort, but she couldn't help but sneak glances and feel a little envious of what Jun would see when he got home. Marcy had her arms almost glued to her sides to prevent any phantom breezes from exposing her modesty, and Alice couldn't help but laugh at her.

"Marcy, you can move your arms, you know."

"Just takes one breeze..." Marcy grumbled, "And then it's all out there for everyone to see."

"That's the fun of wearing a dress!" Alice grinned, "So when you want to get down to Business, your baby-making equipment is easy to grab! Come to think of it, wouldn't it be so much simpler if men wore dresses too? You could lift up the dress, grab it, and go to town!"

"Oh my GOD! Alice....that's it. I'm changing right now!" Marcy all but bolted for the house, but Alice laughed, putting her arms around her.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop. I promise, Marcy, you look beautiful. Can't you see that?" Alice asked, turning her around and putting her hands on her shoulders.

"Y-You think so?" Marcy blushed, pushing a little of the anxiety down, "Do you think he'll like it? It's just....a dress...it's not "me," you know?"

"Look, when Jun comes home, he's going to see that little girl he used to spend time with all grown up, all grown up into a damn fine woman if I say so myself, I mean shit Marcy "I" want to take you home and do things to you in that dress," she smirked as Marcy's blush turned a deeper shade of red, "There's nothing wrong with letting him see you're a woman now okay?"

Marcy listened and found herself growing more comfortable, more at peace. When she thought of Jun, she thought of the little boy that comforted her after her father had died, when Marcy had been angry at everyone and everything Jun had shown her that his arms were the safest place in the world, she'd loved playing with Jun and Alice. Still, she always found herself drawn back to his arms again and again, But Jun was a man now. Would he even want to hold her? Would his embrace still feel welcoming? Safe?"

"Alright..." Marcy sighed, leaning against Alice for a moment, "But I'm not spinning for anyone." 

\--

The wagon rolled into the yard as fast as the Brahmin could pull it. When it came to a stop, Charles hopped down with a bright smile and a wave. Marcy only saw the top of Jun's head from over the wagon as he spoke to and paid their Caravan Guards their caps.

"Diane!" Richard smiled, halting in front of the woman. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, "You're a sight for sore eyes! How's Business?"

Marcy saw her mother's eyes sparkle as Richard kissed her cheek. The two seemed like a perfect fit for one another, but according to Diane, while they enjoyed each other's company, they both felt that another marriage wasn't what was best for either of them.

"Business is wonderful, Richard, all the more so thanks to Marcy and Alice's hard work. I don't know where I'd be without them."

"Well, I don't know where I'd be if you weren't whipping Alice into shape!" Richard smirked, turning to his daughter.

"Bite me, daddy!" Alice said, hands on her hips and staring him in the eye, challenging him to do something about it.

"See what I mean?" Richard asked Diane, "Sassing her elders!" he reached out for Alice, who backed away a step.

"Don't you dare! Not till you've washed up! No! Nonono!" Alice tried to back away, but Richard swept her up in his arms, laughing as he hugged her and spun her in a circle, "Augh! Daddy! you stink like sweat and Brahmin! and now I do too!" Alice groaned as he sat her back down her feet, though her smile was evident.

"My little storm cloud on a sunny day, I've missed you too!" Richard grinned, he turned to look at Marcy, and his eyes widened as he saw what she was wearing.

"Don't you dare hug her!" Alice warned him, "She's all dressed up for Jun, and she doesn't need to go over there to see him while stinking like Brahmin dung!"

"Marcy! look at you!" Richard said, "Your father would be so proud to see what a beautiful woman you've grown up to be. I won't ruin that beautiful dress with a hug though," he took Marcy's hand and kissed it rather than hug her.

"T-Thank you, Richard," Marcy blushed, standing up on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek, "Are you home for long?" she asked him.

"Jun will be home for three weeks to "Rest," Richard told her with a wink, "Me? Well, I'm home for two days, then back out on the road, there's a copper shortage in Diamond City right now, and we have a stockpile of it at the shop in Quincy. Good caps to be made on that deal!" he smiled at her.

"So soon?" Diane asked with a hint of regret in her voice, "Well, why don't you all come in for lunch? Alice and I have been busy cooking all morning.

"Now THAT is a wonderful idea!" Richard said he knelt in front of Marcy for a minute as Diane and Alice headed back into Diane's home, "I meant what I said about your father, but I want you to know how proud I am of you too," he told her "All the hardship you've had to go through, and you've never broken once, now go see Jun! he's tired and dirty from the road, but I'm certain he'd love to see a beautiful ray of sunshine like you."

"I will, but you owe me a hug once' you're washed up," Marcy told him.

"Ha! That's a debt I'll be happy to pay." Richard grinned, getting up; he headed into the house, leaving her and Jun alone in the courtyard.

\--

She rounded the wagon in time to see Jun paying the last guard, getting a good look at him before he saw her. Two years he'd been either on the road or managing the shop in Quincy, learning the trade from his father, didn't leave him with much free time. Even before the two-year hiatus he'd taken from her life, she'd barely been able to see him. His father kept him extremely busy. He'd had no time for her or Alice, no time for closeness, no time for hugs.

((Is he even the same Jun that kissed me?)) she worried to herself.

He'd gotten taller, that was for sure. His facial features were sharper. His face looked more mature. Marcy listened to him speaking to the last Caravan guard as he handed him his caps. His voice sounded confident.

((He's changed! He's going to take one look at me and decide he can do better!)) Marcy's heart thudded in her chest, but before she could flee, he turned around, catching sight of her.

She watched him stare at her blankly for a moment, and her heart sank, but then his face changed, his eyes lighting up and his mouth splitting into a grin.

"Marcy?" 

She loved how her name slipped from his lips. There was a note of disbelief to it, a hint of...awe? It made her blush.

"H-Hi Jun."

"I almost didn't recognize you!" he said with a laugh, "You look amazing!" he took a closer look at her, and she realized he was reading her, a talent he used with annoying accuracy to discern her mood. He blinked and started to laugh, "You hate it, don't you?" His eyes shined, gazing down at her.

There was "Her" Jun! The kind eyes, the delight in his voice, the annoying ability to read her like a book!

Planting her hands on her hips, she glowered up at him, "Mom and Alice ganged up on me," she lamented, "Are you going to hug me or what?"

"I...I was, but I didn't want to get your dress dirty," Jun said, holding up his hands, "I"m dirty from the road and..."

"Oh, like I give a shit!" Marcy cut him off, throwing herself into his arms. Jun laughed, caught off guard for a minute as her arms went around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly. Yes, this was absolutely still "her" Jun.

"I missed you," his voice was soothing in her ear, "Dad kept me so damn busy I hardly had time to think about anything but business, but I never stopped thinking about you."

"Missed you too," Marcy murmured, resting her head on his chest. She could feel the warmth of his body, passing through the thinner fabric of her dress. She found herself suppressing a little shiver as her body reacted to that heat, dimly she wondered what Jun was thinking, opening her mouth to ask she was interrupted as Alice yelled out the door.

"Hey! Make babies later! Lunch is ready!"

Marcy cursed against Jun's chest as she felt his arms unwrap from around her waist.

"Alice! I swear to god!" Marcy hollered as she stomped towards the house, Jun following after her with a bemused grin on his face.

\--

"I"m staying here tonight!" Alice loudly proclaimed, "So you two can have the house to yourselves, oh and I told Scott down at the inn that you two would be stopping by for dinner tonight.

A week had passed quicker than Marcy could have imagined. Every spare moment she'd been able to steal, she'd spent cuddled up to Jun. They spent this time quietly reconnecting with each other. As far as Marcy was concerned, she was content to rebuild their relationship just like this.

But Alice had other ideas. She wanted them to announce their relationship to the entire settlement. She was worried because they hadn't spent the last week locked in Jun's bedroom, letting nature take its course. Her latest tactic was to presume it was her presence that kept the two fully clothed.

Jun bore her clumsy attempts to help with the patience of a saint and his usual gentle smile. Marcy, on the other hand, was having difficulty keeping her emotions off her face. Having a romantic dinner in front of half the settlement seemed like a terrible idea.

"Gonna go pack!" Alice exclaimed, and before Marcy could object, she was already gone.

Marcy heaved a sigh from the couch where she and Jun sat nestled together. She couldn't get enough of his closeness. "So dinner?" she asked, doing her best to keep the irritation out of her voice, but Jun knew her better than that.

"We can go and make the most of it," he smiled, "Or we can come up with an excuse and stay here for dinner, as long as I'm with you, it doesn't matter."

"We should go. Alice would be offended if we didn't," Marcy sighed, leaning up; she smiled and kissed his cheek, "I should go home and see if mom needs anything, but we'll meet there, say around five?" she asked him.

"I can't wait." Jun smiled up at her.

\--

Marcy was in her room, deciding what to wear when Alice barged in.

"Ohhh, you're half-naked already," she said, admiring the sight of Marcy in her underclothes. Approaching Marcy from behind, she put her arms around her cupping her breasts, "Or were you doing this for my benefit because you knew I was coming?"

"Alice! My mother is downstairs!" Marcy hissed.

"Ohh, we could be quiet. You're my good girl after all," Alice purred in her ear, "You know how to be quiet. Besides, it might help take the edge off for your date tonight," Without waiting for a response, she relieved Marcy of her bra and began to tug her nipples. To Marcy's dismay, her treacherous body began to respond.

"Damn it, Alice, Mary groaned as Alice's lips wrapped around one of her nipples, "I thought we agreed we weren't going to do this here?"

"It's been a whole week!" Alice pouted, "I haven't had so much as a taste of you in a week, and we can't do it back home because you're supposed to be doing Jun there. By the way, my room is off limits! No sex in my bed!"

"Alice, I...."We" appreciate you trying to help, we're going to the inn, but we're "Not" having sex tonight!" Marcy hissed through clenched teeth as Alice yanked her panties down.

"Why not?" Alice smirked, "You're already so wet for me!" Marcy bit back a groan as her fingers went to work, "It's been a whole week! and all you two have done is cuddle."

"W-We're getting to know each other again, Alice, and it's only "been" a week. You and I? we've been doing this for years, I trust you, Jun and I? We aren't ready for that yet, and why are you so frigging anxious for your brother and I to have sex? It's weird!"

Alice looked up at her, and for a moment, the whimsical look in her eyes vanished, and Marcy caught a hint of something she didn't recognize in Alice's gaze."

"Fine!" Alice huffed, "But I'm still staying here tonight, oh the things I'm going to do in your bed," she giggled as her smile returned.

Disturbed by that flicker of unknown emotion in Alice's eyes and feeling a little uncomfortable, Marcy did her best to remain quiet but fake a convincing climax so Alice would leave her be to get dressed.

"There, was that so difficult?" Alice said, standing up and licking her lips, "Now hurry up and get dressed! Your date awaits!" she called out in a sing-song voice as she left the room.

\--

Dinner was an awkward affair.

As Marcy ate, she could feel about a dozen eyes watching them both, be it jealous potential suitors or townsfolk who were watching for anything they could gossip about the next day. Marcy felt like they were on display and putting on a show.

It was more embarrassing still that Scott, the owner of the establishment, was waiting on them hand and foot, coming by every five or ten minutes to make sure everything was "To their liking" Marcy just wanted to eat in peace and try to enjoy being with Jun.

Jun seemed to be taking it all in stride, but Marcy could see a slight tension around his eyes, indicating he wasn't enjoying himself as much as he was letting on.

"What's Quincy like?" Marcy asked him quietly as she ate.

"Big," Jun replied with a smile, "I thought Canavan was busy, but Quincy? There's so many people doing so many different things, it's overwhelming at first, but when you stop and look around, you realize everyone has a routine, and they're just trying to live their lives and not step on each other's toes."

"I've always wanted to see Quincy," listening to him talk was helping Marcy forget about all the prying eyes, "I love Canavan, but if I ever wanted to go somewhere else in my life, I think it would be Quincy."

"If you want to go, then I'll take you there," Jun said brightly, "You'd need a little time to get used to the crowds, everyone does, but I think you'd be right at home in our shop."

"You'd take me?" Marcy smiled, not bothering to hide the excitement in her voice, "Mom would probably take a little convincing, and we'd have to tie Alice to a chair to keep her from jumping into the back of the wagon." she said thoughtfully.

"You're probably right," Jun chuckled, "But if we bring the idea up to them say tomorrow? we'll have a couple of weeks to get them used to the idea," He reached across the table and took her hands in his, "If you were there with me in Quincy I think I'd have everything I could possibly...."

"Excuse me? Sorry to intrude on your evening but is there anything you need? Anything else I can get you?" Marcy grit her teeth as Scott interrupted yet again.

"Everything has been wonderful," Jun praised, "You've truly spoiled us tonight, Scott. However, I think we'll be heading out. You have other paying customers that need a table, and we don't want to overstay our welcome," he winked at Marcy.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all!" Scott went on, "I hope you'll consider coming back the next time you have a night out."

Marcy couldn't help but roll her eyes as Jun settled the bill, the previous week, Scott had been accusing her of trying to steal from him just because a Caravan was delayed leaving Quincy and he hadn't received the goods he'd paid for. She was relieved when Jun finished up and approached her, offering her his arm. He led her out the door. Marcy smiled and leaned into him as they entered the warm evening air.

\--

"So, do you have any idea how we're going to convince my mother to let you steal me off to Quincy?" Marcy asked as they walked at a leisurely pace, arm in arm, up the road to Jun's door.

Jun chuckled softly, "I think we'll begin by making it sounds less like I'm stealing you and more like I'm showing you my father's business." he suggested.

"Hmmm, play down the kidnapping angle, sell it like a business move. I like the way you think," Marcy teased him as they moved up his walkway to the door, "You were saying something before Scott interrupted back there...something about if you had me with you in Quincy?" she asked, turning to look up at him.

"Yes," Jun smiled, "I was going to tell you that if I had you with me in Quincy, I think I'd have everything that I could possibly need in my life."

Marcy's face lit up hearing those words, "Jun..." she sighed, reaching up and cupping his cheek. Not able to trust her voice, she instead leaned in and kissed him, letting him know just how he made her feel, she felt Jun respond, and for a magical moment, nothing else mattered until they broke the kiss, both blushing and panting slightly.

"Would it be too soon if..." Marcy began.

"Too soon, if what?" Jun asked curiously.

"Well, it's only been a week, but...I was thinking...well would it be too soon if we were to go upstairs and...you know..." she blushed and buried her face in his neck, her usual confidence she used to deal with Alice had vanished entirely in front of Jun.

"Do you want to?" she could hear the surprise in Jun's voice. Pulling her face from his neck, she looked up at him again, eyes serious.

"Do you want me, Jun?"

"Yes! God yes," he told her with no hesitance. It made her heartbeat quicken. Taking him by the hand, she opened the door.

"Then let's go upstairs." she smiled.

\--

Free from their clothing Marcy blushed as Jun gazed down at her in awe. His gentle kisses and touches and led to him positioned above her. Marcy moved her legs apart for him and reached out gently, stroking his length, both excited and intimidated that he would soon be inside of her.

"Is this...your first?" Jun asked her, shivering as she ran her hand over the length of him.

"Yes, I told you I'd wait for you, remember?" Marcy gave him a playful little tug as if she was insulted. He'd forget, "You're the only man I've ever wanted, Jun."

"You're the only woman I'll ever want, Marcy," Jun sighed as she guided him where he needed to go.

"Just go slow, gently," Marcy felt him slide into her, gritting her teeth against the initial pain. She wrapped her arms around him. Jun took her mind off the pain, kissing her, his fingers toying with her nipples until he was buried to the hilt. Once the pain had passed, Marcy groaned softly at the feel of him inside of her and how full he made her feel, "I"m okay," she promised him.

When Jun began to thrust, Marcy matched his pace. It was slow and unhurried, the two of them gazing into each others eyes as if unable to believe they'd finally reached this intimate moment together. Slowly their rhythm quickened. Marcy alternated between little moans of pleasure and whispering words of encouragement into his ear; finally, she wrapped her legs around his waist and let him have full control.

She squeezed down on him, relishing every little groan and gasp she milked from him. She was the louder of the two between them, but she had a feeling he didn't mind that. She dug her nails into his shoulders and moaned his name when he changed his angle, hitting just the right spot, and after several more blissful minutes of this, she felt his pace growing more frantic.

"Marcy...close..." Jun sighed in her ear, "Should I pull..."

She cut him off, wrapping her legs around his waist tighter, "I-Inside, please, Jun." 

It only took a few more thrusts. Marcy clamped down hard when she felt her orgasm wash over her. She felt Jun tense and then felt his length throbbing as he emptied himself inside of her.

"My Jun..." she sighed as he pulled out of her and stretched out next to her.

"My Marcy," he promised her as he pulled the covers up around them. Marcy wanted to say more, but he pulled her close, and she lay her head across his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart before falling asleep.

\--

The next morning they walked arm in arm from Jun's home over to hers, Marcy felt like she must have been glowing, and she was already anticipating Alice pointing out that fact (In front of her mother no less) the moment they walked through the door.

She was about to say something to Jun when her front door opened, and two Minutemen walked out. Marcy tensed as she took in the grim looks on their faces. She and Jun hurried to meet them.

"Officers? Is everything okay?" Jun asked, putting a protective arm around Marcy.

"You're Jun Long?" One of the Minutemen stepped forward, "I'm very sorry to inform you, sir, but we found the remains of a Caravan on the road from Quincy, Raider's sir...your father was...uh...that is to say, no one was left alive."

Marcy felt Jun step back as if struck by a physical blow. Putting her arms around him, she felt her jaw drop.

"I...you..." Jun shook his head, his face white, pale as a sheet now, "T-Thank you, officers, if y-you'll excuse me, I need to check on my sister now." he said, brushing past them. Marcy hurried to follow him. As they went inside, she could already hear Alice and Diane's quiet weeping coming from the living room.


	25. Marcy's Tale: Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the finale of Marcy's tale. After reading this, I hope it will give you a better feel for Macy and what she's endured, and why her hatred for Jun has been so deep in my story.

The next week is one of grief and love.

While the four of them handle Richard's death in different ways, Alice seems to take it the hardest, rarely leaving her room without gentle coaxing from Diane or Marcy, only eating if offered food. She looks at the world through glassy eyes full of tears and weeps at night behind the locked door of her room.

Jun shoulders the emotional burden and soldiers on during the day. The weight of his Family's business and its future is now in his hands, During the night, his grief is laid bare to Marcy, and she spends long hours gently running her fingers through his hair, assuring him that whatever the future brings, they will meet it together. Once Jun comes to grips with his grief, they spend their nights making love and sleeping as peacefully as they can.

Diane takes the loss in Stride, like Alice, she is quieter, she deals with her pain privately, there are no storms of grief as there was when she lost her husband, Marcy has never been sure of the depth of the feelings Diane and Richard had for one another, but she would not be surprised if they were more profound than their children were ever aware of, Diane focus's her attention on them, helping them grieve and maintain business as usual.

Marcy grieves as she helps Alice and Jun process their emotions. After her father's passing, Richard was the only father figure she had in her life. While she never had the kind of father-daughter relationship that he and Alice shared, Richard had never failed to bring Marcy home presents or take her aside for Private moments to build her up or tell her how proud he was of her. It was something he'd never had to do, yet he always took the time to do it.

As time winds down and Jun's eventual departure to Quincy draws near, their lovemaking takes on a more frantic, energetic quality. Emotions brought on by his departure and unspoken fears that they may not see one another again. Marcy is left with muscles that ache after these encounters, but she likes this side of Jun. It's a side that only she gets to see, and she encourages him as they explore this kind of love together. She knows he will never hurt her.

"I love you, Marcy," he tells her the night before his departure as they lay entangled in each other's arms. Marcy is both overjoyed and unsurprised by his confession. After all, she has loved him in her heart since they were children.

"I love you too, Jun," she answers with tears in her eyes. 

"It will take time, but one day you and I will go to Quincy together," he vows, "Maybe even settle down there, start a family, maybe even as...husband and wife."

"A-Are you asking me i-if I'll be...." Marcy stutters.

"My wife?" Jun smiles up at her, "I'm afraid I don't even have a ring, Marcy, but after everything that's happened I...I don't want to leave you without knowing for certain if you would..." 

"YES!" she cries and throws her arm around him, "Yes, I'll be your wife, Jun! A ring isn't important! as long as we have each other!" 

"Of course, a ring is important!" Jun laughs as he hugs her back, his relief evident, "And I will find a ring for you! And there will be a ceremony, everyone in the settlement will know that you are my wife" he grins at her.

They talk into the wee hours of the morning, sharing their hopes and dreams. Marcy is beyond excited but knows she can't share this information with anyone yet. It's not the time. They make love one last time before falling into a satisfied slumber.

\--

The next morning she watches the man that will be her Husband leave for Quincy, it makes the parting harder, but she's already planning what she's going to be wearing (Or not wearing) the night he returns.

The three women fall into the same routine as before, Alice and Marcy helping Diane run the shop and load wagons, Marcy's heart feels lighter than it has in a while, Alice though is distant, when night falls Alice goes back to her home, Marcy follows her not wanting her to be alone.

Alice comes to her that night. Marcy has reservations now about intimacy with Alice, wondering. If it's not a violation of June's trust, But when Alice looks at her questioningly and presses a tentative, almost pleading kiss to Marcy's lips, Marcy doesn't have the heart to tell her no and send her deeper into depression, even in their intimacy Alice is subdued. Marcy wishes she could see the fire in Alice's eyes again, The fire of Alice denying Marcy an orgasm unless she confesses that she is Alice's good girl.

Alice recovers slowly over the next three weeks, with Diane's support during the day and Marcy's intimacy during the night, a tiny spark returns to her eyes, she begins to laugh again, their playful banter returns, and on the night before Jun is set to return Alice seems more herself as they are intimate.

"I'm going to miss this," she pants, as Marcy kisses her way up Alice's body after bringing her to climax, Marcy settles next to her with her chin on Alice's shoulder, and Alice's turns to face her, "Marcy? If you and Jun get married, will you still love me?"

The question sets off warning bells. Marcy feels as though she's been punched in the gut. The word "love" has never been uttered between them. Indeed there is trust and affection between them, but their relationship has always been based on a mutual need. Marcy speaks quickly but carefully.

"Alice, You are and always will be my best friend, Jun, and I will always love you. Nothing will ever change that." she watches Alice digest these words and, for a moment, that flicker of emotion that made her so uncomfortable before flashes in Alice's eyes.

((Jealousy?)) Marcy wonders, trying to put a name to it.

Then Alice smiles up at her, "And you'll always be my good little girl Marcy," she says, kissing Marcy on the cheek before pulling the covers around them and closing her eyes, Alice falls asleep quickly, but sleep doesn't come as easily for Marcy.

\--

Alice's strange behavior continues with Jun home. She disappears for days at a time and is vague with answers when she returns home. She's often confrontational with Jun. There have been many times that Marcy has caught them on the tail end of an argument when she enters their home, Marcy has questions, but both of them assures her it's just siblings being argumentative.

Marcy's head is often in the clouds as she daydreams about her wedding with Jun, her mother catches on one day when Alice is out of town, and Jun is tending to business elsewhere.

"He proposed, didn't he?" Diane asks her with a smile.

"H-How? How did you know?" Marcy asks her mother.

"Marcy, you've been floating around here for weeks with this smile on your face, the same smile you used to get when you'd see Jun walk by the house when you were little. You'd sit there for hours waiting for him to come over and see if you wanted to play, that is, if you weren't out there already trying to chase him down already."

"We've agreed to be married. There just hasn't been any time to put anything together yet," Marcy beams, "He wants to find a ring that's just right for me."

"Such a sweet boy," Diane sighs. She stands up and grips the edge of the table for a moment as if overcome by a wave of dizziness. Marcy is by her side in an instant.

"Mom? What is it? Are you ok?" she grips her mother's elbow securely.

"I'm fine, dear. I just stood up too fast," Diane reassures her, "Why don't you close up the shop for the day and meet me upstairs? I have something for you," she smiles enigmatically.

When Marcy finishes downstairs, she finds her mother sitting on the edge of her bed upstairs, sitting next to her. Diane takes her hand and opens it, placing two rings into her palm and closing Marcy's hand around them.

"Your father and I wore those rings for many happy years, Marcy. I hope they see you and Jun through all the good times and the bad."

"Oh, Mom..." Marcy clutches the rings to her chest with one hand and hugs her mother tightly with the other, "Are you sure?" she asks.

"Never been more sure of anything in my life Marcy, I love you, I'm so glad you and Jun have found happiness together. Every mother lives for the day when they can see their child find the person they want to spend the rest of their lives with."

They have dinner together, talking about the past and Marcy's future. Diane is loving and supportive of Marcy's dreams, and by the time they bid each other a good night, Marcy is filled with confidence as she heads over to Jun's.

She means to tell Jun about the rings first thing, but Jun greets her with a passionate kiss and growl, and they barely make it to the bedroom. It's only his second night back from Quincy, and his first night back did little to satisfy the pent up longing they have for one another. Marcy can't help but giggle as she hears the front door slam, signifying Alice's departure to seek a "Quieter" place to spend the night, most likely Marcy's bed.

Marcy wakes the next morning and rolls onto her side. She watches Jun sleep and can't help but smile. Remembering the rings, she reaches out to wake him and share the wonderful news but then jumps as she hears the front door open and slams shut, feet running up the stairs, and then a moment later Alice bursts in without regard for their state of undress, her face is a mask of grief and tears are cascading down her cheeks.

"Marcy! I-It's Diane!" Alice sobs.

\--

The Doctor can't tell them what exactly happened, only that Diane passed in her sleep. He can tell them she went "Peacefully" and with a smile on her face. It's a comfort to Marcy but a small one. She falls apart in that moment, a storm of grief ripping away everything she thought made her strong, reverting to no more than a wailing child.

She's now that last of her Family.

It takes months for Marcy to pull herself back together. She couldn't have managed it without Jun and Alice by her side, putting aside whatever issues they put her back together piece by piece, gently arguing with her when she refuses to eat, bathing her when she can't find the strength to do it herself, pulling back the curtains to let the sun in, even when it's the last thing she wants to see, they force-feed her life until she's willing to accept it again.

Slowly, Marcy finds herself again, back on her feet. She shoulders burdens, so Jun doesn't have to, it's a difficult decision, but she sells her childhood home, moving her belongings into Jun and Alice's house. She can't bring herself to even walk through it anymore. She is now entirely dependant on Jun and Alice.

\--

Four months pass, and life has returned to some sense of normal. She and Jun reconnect and fall deeper in love. Alice and Jun argue more often now, though Marcy can never determine just what it's about. Alice leaves for weeks at a time now, clearly preferring to spend her time elsewhere. The loss of Diane as a mother figure in Alice's life has left deep scars.

Marcy doesn't realize how much Alice has changed until she's in the kitchen one morning, and Alice comes in through the front door, dressed n Road Leathers and mismatched leather armor, eyes sunken and face covered in dirt from the road. Marcy stares at her eyes wide, and when Alice's gaze falls on her, Marcy shivers at the predatory look in those eyes.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," Alice purrs, advancing on her until she backs Marcy up against the counter. Lowering her head, she kisses Marcy's neck and drags her tongue up to Marcy's ear, biting down on her earlobe, none too gently, "Mmm I've missed my good little girl, let's say we get these pants off and I can show you how much I missed you?" she growls into Marcy's ear her hands already working on Marcy's belt.

"Alice! No!" Marcy whispers, "Jun is upstairs! and never mind this!" she says, shoving Alice's hands away from her waist, "Where have you been? What are you wearing?"

"Doesn't matter, none of it matters, I just want you," Alice moves in to kiss Marcy. Marcy can taste the whiskey on her breath.

"No, NO!" Marcy raises her voice only slightly, but Alice won't stop, her hands rubbing Marcy through her shirt.

"So you want to be my bad girl then? I can work with that." Alice's hands go back to trying to work Marcy's belt, and Marcy struggles to push them away.

"No! Alice, I said No! NO!" shoving Alice away hard with one hand, she brings the other hand across Alice's cheek, the slap is shockingly loud, Upstairs she hears Jun begin to move around, "What is Wrong with you!" 

Alice blinks uncomprehendingly at Marcy, raising a hand to her cheek where a red mark is already beginning to form. Jealousy, then anger blazes in her eyes, and then she begins to cry.

"So that's it then? You don't want me anymore!" she accuses Marcy.

"Alice, talk to me! Where have you been? Are you drunk? We haven't heard from you in weeks!" Marcy tries to get through to her friend, but Alice is already backing away.

"Oh, Don't act like you give a shit when you just HIT me!" Alice snarls. When Marcy takes a step forward, Alice spits on her. "FUCK YOU!" she howls before fleeing from the house.

By the time Jun hurries downstairs, Marcy is a tear-streaked mess.

"Marcy! What happened?" Jun pulls her into his arms. "Was that Alice?"

"S-she's gone!" Mary's sobs, "I d-don't think she's coming back, Jun."

Her father, her mother, and now her best friend have all been ripped from her life for reasons beyond her control. Hurt and confused, she clings to Jun desperately. He's all she has left now.

\--

Marcy and Jun find a rhythm together. Their bond grows as it's now just the two of them. When Jun is home, they only leave the bedroom long enough to eat. When he's gone, Marcy is desperately lonely, moving through Jun's childhood home she feels like a ghost haunting the halls, truth betold without Jun there it no longer feels like home, she regrets selling her childhood home, longing to go back there and spend time in her old room, to bask in childhood memories no matter how painful the recollection will be.

They're destined for Quincy now. Jun assures her it's only a matter of time, a month or more before they can leave Canavan for good. Marcy busies herself with packing away the things they will take with them and selling the things that no longer matter.

A week before Jun is scheduled to come home, she starts to feel sick. Soon she can't get out of bed in the morning without vomiting. Standing up or moving her head too fast leaves her dizzy, alone, and terrified that she is sick with whatever her mother had before she died. Marcy battles panic attacks. Finally, she breaks down and schedules a doctor's appointment the day after Jun comes home. Whatever the answer may be to her health problems, Marcy needs to hear it.

She plays down her sickness in the morning, telling Jun she's headed to the Doctor, and no, she doesn't need him to go with her, though as the Doctor examines her and takes notes, Marcy desperately wishes Jun was there so she could hold his hand.

She's both relieved and confused when the Doctor puts a hand on her shoulder and smiles. She supposes she can't be dying if the Doctor is smiling.

"You're pregnant, Marcy," he smiles brightly.

Head spinning with relief and surprise, Marcy breaks down in happy tears, placing a hand over her stomach in wonder; she only half listens as the Doctor speaks.

"Are you ok to go back home? Should I send for Jun?" The Doctor asks as she stands up and sways on her feet.

"No, I think I'll be fine," Marcy says, still not trusting her voice entirely, "Guess I'll be seeing you soon then?" she laughs happily.

"I'll be there for you every step of the way," The Doctor reassures her.

\--

Marcy hurries home clutching a bottle of purified water that she promised the Doctor she would drink, eating and drinking was going to be even more critical now, and the Doctor wanted to see her put on a little more weight just to be safe.

She couldn't wait to tell Jun! This would surely complicate their plans further, but they'd do whatever it took to make it work. It might even lead to their departure to Quincy being sooner than later, a thought which excited Marcy even more.

The front door to their house is wide open as Marcy arrives home. She opens up her mouth to call out to Jun but stops when she hears angry voices coming from the kitchen and recognizes Alice's voice; she quietly shuts the door behind her and moves carefully through the house.

"I am so sick and tired of this argument!" Jun's voice is raised, angry, it sounds so foreign to Marcy's ears, "her" Jun mad isn't something that happens often.

"Then give me what you owe me, and I'll be on my way then." Alice's voice is firm. It's clear this isn't the first time they've had this argument.

"Look I did what you paid me to do!" Alice raises her voice, "I kept your sweet little Marcy out of the hands of the other boys. "By any means necessary," isn't that what you said?

"Alice, I'll give you the damn caps when we leave for Quincy!" Jun's voice is scaring Marcy. What's being implicated scares her even more. She stays just out of sight on the other side of the doorway, trying to control her breathing.

"If you're not going to pay me, then maybe that means my job isn't done? Maybe I should keep on fucking her like you paid me to do? I mean, if you're not going to pay me, then it sounds like you want me to keep on fucking her." Alice's voice is cruel, and Marcy battles to choke back a sob as the truth is laid bare, Alice had never been interested in her. It was only the caps she'd been after, Jun's caps, had she ever been anything more than an investment in Jun's eyes? a piece of property to be bought?

"God damn it," Jun sighs, "You are disgusting, Alice, you know that?"

"Oh, like you have any moral high ground to stand on Jun, between the two of us, you're fucking disgusting. I was just doing what you told me to do, what you PAID me to do, now unless you want to run the risk of Marcy dropping in on our little conversation, I'll repeat it, Fucking pay me what you promised, and I'll be out of your lives for good!"

"Fine!" Jun snaps, "But I don't want to see you again, Alice, you're dead to me now," Jun leaves the room for a moment and comes back with a sizable bag of caps.

"Oh, fuck off!" Alice's eyes light up at the bag of caps, and she laughs in his face.

"Take these caps..." Jun growls through gritted teeth, "Stop fucking my wife! And get the fuck out of my home! go back to your raider boyfriend."

It's the sound the bag of caps makes that finally sets Marcy off. She drops the bottle of purified water on the floor, stepping into the light of the kitchen, hands shaking, tears streaming down her cheeks. The two look up at her in shock, Alice begins to laugh, but Jun looks like a man realizing he's made the biggest mistake of his life.

"Marcy..." he whispers, "Marcy, I can explain!"

"Oh yes, please explain, dear brother!" Alice laughs again, "Ahh shit, well we had our fun, didn't we, Marcy?" 

Something snaps in Marcy, a hard, ugly thing full of anger explodes, and Marcy sees red. She crosses the gap between her and Alice and punches the woman so hard in the face that she feels the bones in her fingers snap.

Jun watches in shock, still trying to stammer out an apology as his sister drops to the floor. He only knows Alice is alive because she starts to howl in pain as Marcy grabs her by the hair and begins to drag her out of the house.

Dragging her to the door, Marcy throws it open, throwing Alice on the front step; she kicks her down the stairs leaving her in a bloodied and dazed mess. Storming back into the house, Marcy picks up the bag of caps. Spinning on her heels, she carries them back to the front door, and as Alice is struggling to get to her feet, she hurls the bag at her, striking her in the head and knocking her down again.

"Don't forget your caps!" she hisses before slamming the door, stalking back into the kitchen; she's shaking with unbridled anger now, pacing back and forth across the kitchen floor with her broken hand clutched protectively over her stomach, making noises like a wounded animal in terrible pain as she tries to speak.

"You fucking bastard!" she wails at Jun. "I Trusted you! I loved you!"

"Marcy, please, let me try and Ex..."

"How much did you pay her!" she wails again, "Tell me, Jun, how much did my love cost??" she's dizzy now. The room is spinning, but when Jun steps forward to touch her shoulders, she slaps him so hard his head rocks to the side.

"Bastard...don't touch...me," she manages to spit before she collapses to the floor.

\--

Marcy wakes in the Doctor's office again. Raising her head, she sees Jun asleep by the bedside. Raising her hand, she numbly observes two fingers wrapped and bandaged, broken for sure. A fit of low simmering anger rises in her as Marcy sees Jun open his eyes. She hopes where ever Alice is, she's suffering right now.

"You're pregnant," he says softly. A hopeful smile flickers across his face but dies quickly when she doesn't return it. He reaches out tentatively but stops as she jerks back in the bed.

"If you touch me again, I'll break your nose," she promises him.

Tears fill Jun's eyes, her voice is rough from screaming, and the naked unrestrained hate in her eyes is for him and him alone.

"Marcy? Marcy, I swear I'll make this right. You believe me, don't you?" Jun's voice is desperate and pleading.

Marcy turns away from him, looking at her broken fingers all wrapped up; she places her hands over her stomach, in a protective gesture of the life growing inside of her, looking up; she glares at Jun.

"If you turn out to be half the man I thought you were, I'll be amazed," the words are bitter venom flowing from her lips, "But I've got no choice now, do I? There's no one else left..."

"We'll go to Quincy!" Jun tries to assure her, "The baby will be safer there, we can get our shop up and running, it'll be just like you dreamed."

"Whatever makes you feel like you got your caps worth." Marcy sighs, turning her head away from him because she can longer stand to look at him she closes her eyes.

\--

They arrive in Quincy two months later. Jun is all smiles as he introduces her around town. Marcy tries to pretend she's happy to meet them, that she's happy when they come to trade with her. She thanks them and tells them she hopes they'll come back soon, but she's distant now, her temper is short, rarely can she find something kind to say.

She sleeps in the bedroom, in the big bed Jun picked out for them, where they should have made love, laughed, and planned out their future together, but all that is dead and gone now, Jun sleeps on a couch in the back of the shop, and Marcy lives day to day until Kyle is born, then she lives for him.

They've been in Quincy for six months when they overhear the news from a Minuteman Patrol drinking in the bar one night, a large group of raiders has attacked Canavan, the settlement's population has been either killed or sold into slavery, every building has been burned to the ground.

There is a haunted look in Jun's eyes after hearing that news, and if possible, he grows even quieter.

All they have now is Quincy and a dream that will never be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to be geographically accurate with Canavan. If you go to google maps and search for Quincy, you'll find a Canavan Drive, about two and half hours walking distance west from Quincy, so if you ever want to get a feel for what the settlement would have looked like, you can find it there. I hope you enjoyed this little look into Marcy's tumultuous past. I think we all could guess the ending wasn't going to be a happy one. Hell, I knew the ending already. I still had difficulty writing out the systematic destruction of everything that Marcy loved and held dear, however. At the same time, there will still be tough times ahead for Marcy (It is the commonwealth, after all); there will be many happier times ahead too! Thank you as always for reading.


	26. Welcome Home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now Tentatively updating again. Same great taste, fewer calories.

-Marcy-

It takes Marcy the better part of three days to tell Nora her story. She often has to stop due to exhaustion, Alex checking up on her wounds or tears, Marcy swears she's so damn tired of crying, but there always seems to be more tears.

When she finishes her story, she and Nora are resting down by the small river behind the cabin next to one another, Marcy feels a tremendous relief getting all the poison out of her system, but she's also petrified that exposing herself like this is going to be what finally pushes Nora away for good.

It's peaceful behind the cabin. The only thing that breaks the soothing sound of running water is the calls of Radstag from somewhere nearby. Nora has remained quiet throughout the storytelling, not so much as interrupting once as if understanding Marcy's need to press forward undeterred until she had finally finished. They sit in silence until Marcy looks up at Nora, wanting, no needing her to say something.

When Nora stands up, Marcy is on the verge of panic, thinking she's leaving, but instead, Nora moves behind her and puts her arms around her, resting her chin on Marcy's shoulder. Marcy realizes that Nora isn't going to run.

"I can't promise I won't hurt you, Marcy," Nora sighs. "As a matter of fact, I'm positive we'll hurt each other again, because no relationship is without "hurt" even if it's just from a misunderstanding, sometimes those misunderstandings are what hurt the most."

Marcy listens, nodding her head, unsure about where this is leading, but she leans back into Nora's arms, trusting in what Nora will say.

"I understand so much more now, enough that if I had known all of this, I would have handled things differently, if you had told me this sooner, we could have changed things, If I had told you about how confused I was feeling about Nate and intimate moments with you, we could have changed things, I'm not blaming either one of us for what happened, but what we did say...or didn't say to each other IS to blame for how things happened, do you understand what I'm getting at?"

Marcy has to process Nora's words, at first; she feels as though Nora is blaming her, and that combative, stubborn side of her wants to object, but taking a moment and letting Nora finish, she realizes Nora is rationalizing things in a way that has long since deserted her.

"I think so..." Marcy nods her head, "We should have...talked more about our pasts. I shouldn't have tried to kiss you that night if I'd know about the Vault and Nate, and your son, I never would have put you in that position." she reasoned, "So despite our best intentions to not hurt each other we've done just that."

"Yes," Nora tilts her head, resting her cheek on Marcy's shoulder, "Listen, Marcy, if we're going to have a relationship from now on, we need to talk to one another. We need to be honest about our feelings, and if we're angry, we need to talk about it. Back before the bombs fell, not talking to your partner could lead to the end of a relationship, here? Now? it almost got us killed, and if you'd died and these things had gone unsaid between us I..."

Nora trails off with a shiver, her arms hugging Marcy tighter, she's unable to finish her thought, but Marcy knows what she's saying in her heart.

"You put yourself in between those Ghouls and me," Marcy says with a shiver of her own. If you'd died for me, I don't know how I could have lived with myself." it dawns on her that Nora is talking about "relationships," and a sudden excited thrill races through her. "Are you saying you want us to be a couple?" she asks, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"Yes," Nora tells her, "I don't know when exactly it happened, but I don't sleep well if you're not there with me. When we go back to Sanctuary, I don't want you staying alone in that house. I want you with Codsworth and me. I want you home."

Despite all the crying she's done, Marcy feels a few more tears run down her cheeks, but these are happy tears, not the poison she's been keeping bottled up inside.

"I w-want that too, Nora," Marcy sniffles.

"This is one of those times where I need to be honest with you," Nora tells her. She can feel the change in Nora's body. There's a tension to it now, "Before we start being...intimate, there's something I need to do first, I n-need to bring Nate home, I need to lay him to rest, I can't move forward without doing that...and...I'm going to need your help. I know it's a selfish request, but...I need to work up the courage to go back to vault one eleven."

"Shhh," Marcy turns, putting a finger to Nora's lips to silence her, "Whatever you need, Nora, I'll be there for you every step of the way."

Marcy feels the tension melt away from Nora's body. They stay pressed close for a long time, enjoying this rare peaceful moment. Marcy feels almost liberated in a way; finally, she has hope for a future.

-Nora-

"I can't think of a medical reason for you to stay." Alex gives Marcy a clean bill of health the next morning after checking her wounds one more time, "You're going to have some wicked scars for the rest of your life, but they'll make for one hell of a story if anyone sees them."

"I think I'll avoid telling stories about how I almost got killed by ghouls," Marcy smiles wryly. 

"I never said it had to be one hell of a "truthful" story," Alex winks at her.

Nora wants Alex to come back with them, but he's politely declined once, so she doesn't bring it up out of respect for his decision.

"I know," Alex says, reading her face, "I know the option is there, but I don't think I can do it yet, Nora..."

"You know I respect that, Alex. This is "your" Sanctuary here. I wouldn't ask you to leave that behind if you don't want to, but would you at least walk back with us? Stay long enough for a meal so we can thank you properly? It would do Marcus and Lexxi a world of good to see you and know you're ok."

"I...I could do that, I suppose," Alex says after a moment of nervous thought.

"Wonderful! it'll be good for the others in Sanctuary to be able to put a face to the name of the person who's been looking out for them," Nora said happily.

They gathered their things and headed back to Sanctuary, it would be strange going back and not seeing Jun or Dogmeat, but now that Nora knew Marcy's story, she understood why Jun had left and was relieved he'd have Dogmeat to keep him safe.

Lexxi was the first to greet them, throwing her arms around Marcy's shoulders and hugging her tightly.

"Marcy!" she sniffled, "Preston told us you'd been hurt! He said you were resting, and we could come to see you in a few days, but I was scared that something would happen, and I...and I..." she squeezed Marcy tight enough that Nora saw the woman wince.

She watched Marcy speak softly to Lexxi, running her fingers through the young woman's hair. Marcy turned slightly and whispered something in Lexxi's ear. Nora watched Lexxi's head snap up from Marcy's shoulders as she laid eyes on Alex, who'd been standing behind them.

"ALEX!" she cried, letting go of Marcy and throwing herself into his arms. This time, she did cry, sobbing into his shoulder. Nora watched as Alex put his arms around her and closed his eyes, murmuring softly in her ear.

Marcus stuck his head out the door where he'd been working. Nora saw his eyes go wide as he hurried over. The three embraced, and Nora saw Marcus's eyes fill with tears as Alex spoke to both of them. Feeling as though she was intruding, she offered Marcy her hand.

"Let's go talk to Sturges. I haven't reminded him that he sucks in almost a week. I don't want him to forget."

Marcy snorted, taking Nora's hand. She smiled and looked down when she felt Nora's fingers lace together with hers as they walked across the street.

-Sturges-

Sturges looked up as they came in. When he saw who it was, he shoved his chair and hurried over, pulling Nora into his arms.

"God damn girl," he said, crushing her to his chest, "Don't you go worrying me like that again," he said, his voice rough for a moment.

Nora grunted as she was pulled into his embrace, "I'm sorry I scared you, but I'm ok, we both are."

Sturges pulled back and saw Marcy. The woman looked up at him and tentatively held her arms out for a hug, Sturges couldn't have been more surprised, but he pulled Marcy into a hug, "Same goes for you, Marcy, we've been through too much together...too much to just run off, you hear me? You need to talk? or Vent, you can come find me, but don't go running off like that again."

Nora watched Marcy endure Sturges's admonishments with a surprisingly gentle look on her face, "I"m sorry Sturges, for everything, for being such a bitch," Marcy sighed, hugging him back.

"You don't gotta apologize, Marcy, I understand, we all do, we've all been through hell, but you've been through a different kind of hell ontop of everything else, just promise me you won't take off like that again."

" I promise," Marcy sounded surprised and humbled as Sturges finally let her go.

"So you were worried about me?" Nora smiled as Sturges regained his composure.

"Course I was," Sturges told her, "Who else was I going to rob on Poker night?" he laughed as Nora huffed in indignation and brought the side of her boot up, kicking him in the ass.

They talked a few minutes longer, Nora explaining what had happened and how Alex had rescued them. She explained that Alex had come back with them, which was the reason for all the commotion outside.

"Sounds like we need to celebrate tonight," Sturges said. We've got plenty of meat to grill, and Lexxi harvested some Tato's and corn today. Let's put it all to good use."

Nora and Marcy left, promising to be there for dinner.

They stopped outside, and Nora watched Marcy gaze across the street at her home where Codsworth was no doubt cleaning. He was bound to be excited to lend a hand when he heard about the night's festivities. Nora watched Marcy take in the house and then look back up at her.

(You really want me there?) the hesitance in her eyes seemed to convey.

Rasing Marcy's hand in her own, she pressed a kiss to Marcy's knuckles, watching the hesitance melt away and a smile come over her.

"Go pack," she gently urged Marcy, "Unless you need a space to call your own right now if you need that privacy, I won't take that away from you."

Marcy shook her head, "No, I've been alone for too long. I want this, Nora...I want a home...with you. Reluctantly releasing Nora's hand, she turned for her own house, anxious to get her things and put the past behind her.

As Nora headed for her front door, she saw Mama Murphy standing in her doorway with a smile on her face. Nora returned the smile and blew her a kiss.

-Marcy-

It didn't take her long to pack her things. The bulk of her belongings had been left behind in Quincy. Little more than a few personal possessions and a few changes of clothing went into her pack, along with the pipe pistol that she was totally ineffectual with.

Turning in the doorway one last time, she tried to think of anything positive that had happened within these walls since she'd come to Sanctuary. Try as she might, she couldn't recall anything more than lonely nights and tears shed on her pillow when she was certain no one was around to hear them fall.

Her steps felt lighter as she left her house, pausing outside of Nora's door, she raised her hand to knock and then thought better of it, with a tentative smile, she opened the door and walked in.

Nora and Codsworth were busy in the kitchen, both turning as the door opened. She saw Nora's face light up at the sight of her, and Codsworth hurried over to greet her.

"Miss Marcy! Allow me to be the first to welcome you home!"

Marcy nodded her head in gratitude. She found she was unable to speak past the lump in her throat.


	27. Love brings changes.

-Marcy-

It was still the same unforgiving Commonwealth, the days were still long, hard, and Marcy was still covered in dirt and exhausted by the end of them, but when the days ended, she got to spend her nights in Nora's arms.

This time there was no mystery about what either of them was thinking as they lay in bed together, no fear of rejection, they spent time before bed talking, and sometimes in the early morning hours when they couldn't get back to sleep, Nora would tell Marcy about life before the war while Marcy ran her fingers through Nora's blond hair.

Mutual agreement to wait on physical Intimacy aside, they were still close, holding hands during the day when the opportunity presented itself. When they parted company to go about their respective tasks, Nora would raise Marcy's hand to her lips and kiss it while maintaining eye contact, then Marcy would do the same in return. It's a gentle, safe, loving gesture that touches Marcy on an intimate level she didn't know could be felt.

"Please be patient with me," Nora's eyes would silently ask.

Marcy would be as patient as Nora needed her to be, she wasn't going to let go of this second chance they had, but as days stretched into a week, she realized Nora was struggling with what she needed to do. At first, Marcy kept silent about it. She didn't want Nora to think she was rushing her through the grieving process so they could get to the Intimacy.

Another day passed, and Marcy watched Nora emotionally grappling with the situation in her mind. It dawned on her that this may be one of those situations where honesty was needed. Nora might not be happy with what Marcy had to say, there might even be a fight, and that thought scared Marcy but watching Nora struggle while saying nothing was something she could no longer do.

"Nora?" she asked softly as Nora stood next to the bed that night, "Can I be honest with you about something?"

Nora turned. Hearing the hesitance in Marcy's voice, she looked worried for a moment, "Of course you can Marcy, what's wrong?"

Taking a deep breath, Marcy cupped Nora's cheek, "Nora...I know you're struggling with this right now, I can see it in your eyes, but sweetheart, the longer you put this off, the longer it's going to eat you up inside."

She watches Nora's face fall, twisting in frustrated grief. Nora sniffles and sits down on the edge of the bed, "I know." she says, her voice cracking, "I"m just scared, Marcy, I don't know where to begin, I'm ashamed to ask them for help with this."

It feels like a dagger to her heart when Nora cries. Marcy knows she's responsible for it, and for a moment, she hates herself. Kneeling in front of her between her legs, she puts her hands to Nora's cheeks, this is hard and frightening, but she can't stop now.

"There's not one of us here who would turn down an offer to help you, Nora, especially with this," she promises, "Would it help if I was with you when you spoke to them?"

Nora nods her head again, "I think it would help. I'm so sorry for dragging my feet. I know you're waiting so patiently..." 

"I'm not worried about that, Nora. I just can't stand to see you hurting, no more than you could stand to see me hurting."

Marcy sees Nora smile at this, even with tears running down her cheeks. It's a beautiful smile. She takes one of Marcy's hands and kisses it, helping Marcy to her feet. She climbs into bed, and Marcy is quick to join her. They embrace each other, and Nora holds Marcy's gaze.

"Tomorrow," she promises, "I'll start asking them, and if you're there with me, I'd be grateful...and Marcy?"

"Yeah?" Marcy asks, reaching out to stroke Nora's hair.

"What you just did? You did the right thing."

"I wasn't sure...I didn't want to make you cry," Marcy sighed, no longer bothering to hide how conflicted she was about it.

"I needed a gentle push, not a shove, and you gave me the gentlest push forward, thank you," Nora brings Marcy's hand to her lips, and Marcy, in turn, does the same with Nora's hand.

Sleep is surprisingly quick to follow.

-Nora-

The next morning she rises, does her exercises on the bedroom floor. Marcy watches her with a sleepy smile from her bed, and as worried about the day as she is, she can't help but return that smile. After washing up, they join Codsworth in the kitchen for breakfast. Nora realizes It's here she needs to start.

"Codsworth Honey?" she asks him tentatively.

"Yes, Mum?" Codsworth asks, turning and giving her his full attention.

"Codsworth, tomorrow I'm going to go up the hill, I'm going to the Vault, I'm going to bring Nate home and...put him to rest, I was wondering if you...if you wouldn't mind, maybe sharing some happy memories you have of him? after the Burial?"

"Miss Nora..." Codsworth's voice is one of reverence, "I would be honored just to be included, but I will be proud to give a speech about sir," He sounds close to choking up. Nora feels like she's going to break right there, but Marcy reaches out and places her hand over hers, giving it a quick squeeze. Nora takes strength from it.

"Thank you, Codsworth, for everything. Nate would be so happy to know that you're still here, looking after Sanctuary and me."

"I will do his memory proud, miss Nora," Codsworth promises.

\--

The rest of the morning is not half as bad as Nora envisioned it would be. She speaks to the people of Sanctuary, asking them to play a small part in the funeral to come. Every time she feels herself starting to weaken, Marcy is there by her side, giving her strength.

Lexxi insists on accompanying them into the Vault to be there for Nora.

"You've always been there for me after all," Lexxi says, taking Nora's hands in hers.

\--

Marcus and Alex offer to prepare a resting place for Nate, and Nora almost cries at their kindness for a man they never met.

\--

"Of course I'll be there, Nora," Mama Murphy's gentle voice reassures her when they knock on her door, "You'll bring him home, lay him to rest, ease that burden in your heart, open up some space to let someone else in." Mama Murphy smiles kindly at Marcy.

\--

Preston is respectful, professional when Nora asks for his help in preparing a resting place for Nate.

"I would be honored to help lay him to rest, Nora," Preston says, taking her hand and squeezing it, "If I'd known just how much this was hurting you, I would have..."

"It had to be my decision Preston, I just needed a gentle push," she gestures to Marcy with a small smile.

"I understand, Nora, tomorrow then, just give me the word." 

\--

Finally, the only one left to ask is Sturges.

"I think I can do this part by myself," Nora tells Marcy, "But I couldn't have done this without you." she brings Marcy's hand to her mouth kissing it, closing her eyes she lays her cheek against that hand, "I promise you I will find some way to show you what your support means to me," she vows.

"I already know Nora because you've done just as much for me. When the time comes, we'll show each other gratitude, but for now, you talk to Sturges, and if you need me, you'll know where to find me."

Nora finds Sturges leaning against the wall, eyes glued to the road leading to the bridge. He looks nervous about something though Nora isn't sure about what. Taking a deep breath, she approaches him and calls his name.

-Sturges-

Sturges smiles and turns to face Nora. Some teasing banter will surely take his mind off the anxiety he's feeling right now.

"Hey, there trouble, what brings you...." he stops seeing the look on her face and frowns, "Nora? You look like storm clouds on a sunny day. What's wrong, Darlin?

"Tomorrow," Nora began, "I"m going to the Vault to get Nate, I"m going to bring him home and lay him to rest, I wanted to know if you'd go with me and...help me?"

His response is immediate, "Course I will, Nora," Sturges puts a reassuring arm around her shoulder. It dawns on him this is the most vulnerable he's seen her since she first brought them to Sanctuary, "You know I'd go anywhere for you, right? You just gotta ask."

Nora offers him a relieved smile, "I was so nervous about asking all of you for help, ashamed really, but all I've seen today is that I should never have been scared about asking in the first place, now I just need to come to grips with going back down into that...place," she shivers.

"Scary place?" Sturges asks her as she leans into his arm.

"It's a tomb. That part is scary," Nora replies, "The rest is...well, by wasteland standards, I guess it's in pretty good shape. I think you would have a lot of fun down there poking around."

"When a more appropriate time presents itself, maybe I will," Sturges told her, "Never really got to see inside of a Vault, Always heard Vault 81 would let outsiders in if they brought things to trade and were willing to help."

"There are other Vaults still functioning out there?" Nora was more than a little surprised at this news. She'd assumed they'd all been death traps.

"There's Vault 81 at least, I heard a rumor about one in the middle of Boston, but I never felt like jogging over there to confirm it," he shot her a grin.

"Lazy..." Nora grinned back, her sorrow slowly disappearing in his presence. She noted his gaze turning back towards the bridge and stepped out from under his arm.

"What's got you distracted?" she asked, then it dawned on that Abernathy Farm was in that direction and couldn't help but smile, "Are you expecting a visitor by chance?" she asked him as her grin broaden, if there was teasing to be done she wasn't about spare him.

"I"m hoping for a little more than a "Visit," Sturges told her, shifting nervously, "Lucy was going to talk to her daddy last night about...well about movin to Sanctuary for good, just hoping he's gonna give us his blessing."

Nora laughed, "Sturges, do you really think he's going to tell his daughter no after seeing how happy you make her? After knowing how safe she'll be here?"

"Appreciate your optimism Nora, but he's already lost one daughter. I doubt he's going to let his daughter go for just anyone. When I put myself in his shoes, I wouldn't be willing to let her go so easy."

"Well, it's a good thing you're more than "just anyone," Nora said, smacking his arm, "Give yourself a little credit."

Sturges turned to say something when he heard Lucy's voice.

"STURGES!"

Nora watched Lucy hurrying up the street with a pack slung over her shoulder. When he turned, she dropped her pack running the rest of the way and throwing herself into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. She gave him such a heated kiss that if they'd been standing any closer to the house, the paint would have begun to peel.

"Daddy said No!" Lucy told him excitedly.

Nora watched Sturges's face go blank as he tried to process this information, "Wh...you mean....huh? You're...joking, right?" he asked, looking up at her. He wore such a confused look that Nora couldn't help but snicker.

"Of course I'm joking!" Lucy said happily, laying her head on his shoulder, she waved to Nora with a smile.

"Welcome to Sanctuary Lucy," Nora reached out and squeezed her hand, "I'd offer you the tour, but I doubt you'll be seeing most of our town any time soon unless it's out the bedroom window." she winked at Sturges.

"Oh, you're damn right about that," Lucy purred in Sturges's ear, "Sturges has been nothing but a perfect gentleman up until now, but I'm not looking for a perfect gentleman for the next 48 hours or so at least." 

"I think that's my cue to leave, Lucy; when you can walk again, don't be a stranger, ok?"

"Ok! Oops, looks like I'm going now!" Lucy giggled as Sturges began to carry her inside, "Byeeee!"

Nora couldn't help but smile at Lucy and Sturges's happiness, glad to be a witness to something happy in the Commonwealth. She chuckled as she noticed Lucy's bag forgotten in the middle of the street. Retrieving it, she left it outside Sturges's door, wondering how long it would take Lucy to notice it was missing.

Turning, she gazed up in the direction of Vault 111. She could feel her anxiety returning like clouds blocking out the sun. She returned home wanting to clean and oil her pistol before she went out with Preston again, but her mind went in two directions as she tried to work.

Lucy and Sturges reminded her so much of her and Nate when they first moved to Sanctuary together. She was pretty sure they hadn't even worn clothing for the first seventy-two hours. It was so much easier to get down to what (or who) needed doing when you didn't have to remove any clothes.

Memories of Nate filled her head, but Marcy occupied her thoughts too, She tried to paint a mental picture of what a relationship with another woman would be like, but she didn't have the experience to entertain the notion.

Thinking back to all the times they'd been close, confusing emotions aside, and how her body had reacted to Marcy's advances, she felt her cheeks grow hot. Surely there was something to be said about "Hands-on" learning.

By the time Codsworth called her for lunch, Her pistol still sat untouched in front of her.

-Lexxi-

Lexxi groaned softly as Marcus kissed his way back up her body, licking his lips. Her legs were still trembling from the climax he'd brought her to. She giggled as he nibbled her earlobe and collapsed next to her, draping a possessive arm across her waist and pulling her closer to his body.

"W-We should probably eat something. It's our l-lunch break after all," she sighed, tucking her head under his chin.

"Mmmm, I just did eat something, and she was delicious," Marcus growled in her ear. Lexxi turned bright red at the crudeness statement. It made her squirm when he talked like that. It also made her feel desirable, it was something he'd been gently trying to convince her off for a long time now, and it was only in the last month or so that she'd been able to convince herself that Marcus wasn't lying.

The idea was ludicrous even to consider that her sweet, gentle Marcus would ever harm her in any way, but three months of abuse in the raider camp had left a stain on her soul.

Running from Concord that day, she and Marcus had tasted freedom for the first time. It came at the bitter price of losing Alex, the only man who'd ever cared for them both in the raider camp.

Freedom had been a bitter pill to swallow. It had just about killed them. They'd spent a week in the hills around Sanctuary trying to survive. When they heard the sounds of life coming from Sanctuary, they crept to the edge of town to observe, only to realize with despair that these were the people Gristles group had been trying to kill. They wouldn't accept them with open arms in Sanctuary.

After another three days of little to no food and at the mercy of the elements, Lexxi was beginning to get sick. Marcus (Against her arguments) made a choice for both of them. It was either stagger back to whatever hell awaited them in Corvega or plead for forgiveness in Sanctuary.

Lexxi had existed in a state of terrifying numbness like she was watching and feeling her fear from miles away, her body, her movements, it felt like she was on autopilot, she had expected the people in Sanctuary to take them in, a body had its uses after all, and people had their uses for bodies, the first night after a warm meal she'd passed out more than fallen asleep, only waking the next morning when she'd heard the two women talking to Marcus in the kitchen, they sent him out of the house, up the street to work with the mechanic, now that Lexxi was alone in the house with them she was sure she knew what was coming next.

There was always a price to be paid for services rendered. The only silver lining she could see as she opened the door while trying not to cry was that these women appeared gentle.

The dark-haired one, Marcy, hadn't wanted her when Lexxi had gone to her, confused she'd turned to the blond, Nora, whom to her surprise looked like she was going to cry had told her she didn't have to live that kind of life anymore, Lexxi only half believed her when Nora told her they were trying to create a community where everyone could feel safe, she was still half-convinced that someone would still try and take advantage of her.

Marcy had left and come back with a brush. She'd spent as long as it took to fix the mess that had become Lexxi's hair, untangling every knot in her hair until she could pass the brush smoothly through it. It was the kindest act a stranger had ever done for her. It made her feel human again.

The Jovial robot had heated water for her to have a bath, a bath! When she was clean, he brought her food to eat. No one was angry at her when she had to rest for a few days to get her strength back. They didn't call her useless or try to bully her. In fact, Marcy came by several times to check on her, as did Nora.

When Lexxi and Marcus had left their small settlement and their families, she'd sworn, she'd never be a farmer again, breaking her back all day for barely a mouthful of food when it came time to eat with the rest of the settlement. Still, when she finally began working side by side with Marcy, she found that after a few weeks, she was grateful that she could contribute in this way.

She began to learn about the small group of people, and slowly it dawned on her that everyone there was like herself and Marcus, Survivors just trying to get by, her dream of being a part of something bigger than herself was finally being realized.

She fell in love with Marcy first, not love in the sense that she desired Marcy but love in the sense that she came to trust the woman like a mother, Marcy despite all the skeletons in her closet, never had a harsh word for her, she let Lexxi lean on her (And sometimes fall asleep) after a long mornings work, she made sure Lexxi had enough to eat, and even asked after her relationship with Marcus, to make sure he was treating her well.

She'd made the transition from terrified to the beginning of confidence. If she was hungry, she could decide when to eat, If she was thirsty, then she could choose when and what she would drink, and if she wanted Intimacy, then not only was she worthy of love on her terms, but she could wake Marcus up in the middle of the night. He would show her just how much he loved her, without so much of a complaint at having been woken.

Lexxi smiled at Marcus, now half asleep in the bed next to her, reaching out. She ran her fingers over his stomach, enjoying the feel of his skin.

"I told Nora I'd go down to the Vault with her tomorrow, it kind of scares me, but Nora fought her way out of that place, and I don't want her to feel like she's got to go back in alone, I guess I'm....trying to be braver now," she told Marcus.

"Lexxi, you're already the bravest woman I know. I hope one day you'll be able to see you the way I do," Marcus opened his eyes, "It's one of the many reasons I love you so much."

Lexxi leaned in and kissed him for that. Her fingers that had been drawing lazy circles around his belly button began to drift lower until her hand closed around what she was looking for.

"Lexxi? You sure?" Marcus asked as his eyes widened as her hand closed around him.

"Very sure," Lexxi purred. "I" want this."

They were an hour late getting back to work, and nobody was angry in the slightest.


	28. Bringing him home, and letting her in.

-Nora-

The sky was a beautiful blue without a cloud to be seen.

Nora didn't notice as she stepped outside of her house, Marcy a silent comforting presence by her side, Lexxi joined them as she crossed the street to Sturges home, Lucy emerged from the home and approached her before she could reach the door.

"He'll be right out," Lucy was quiet, respectful of what was about to happen, "I know I just got here yesterday, So I may not be welcome, but if you'd like someone else with you when you go down..."

"I'd be grateful, Lucy," Nora said, giving Lucy the briefest of smiles.

Sturges joined them, and Nora led the way to the Vault.

((I"m going to bring my husband home and lay him to rest, I can do this, this is what he deserves)) she said to herself as they approached the platform and her legs threatened to stop cooperating.

Climbing aboard the platform, she triggered the descent with her pipboy, remembering the first time she'd made this journey, watching in horror as a nuclear tidal wave raced towards them and missed by the barest of inches. If Nate had been afraid, then he hadn't shown it. He'd turned his back to the blast, placing himself in front of danger for her and Shawn.

The Vault was silent as the tomb it was as the elevator came to a stop, the robotic voice on a loop warning of critical failures had fallen quiet, Nora found she almost missed the noise as they made their way through the Vault, the bodies of all the Radroaches blazed the trail like irradiated bread crumbs leading her back to the cryo chamber where she'd woken to find her nightmares had become a reality.

Marcy was by her side every step of the way, though she was sure the woman wanted to reach out and touch her hand to comfort her. Nora was sure the very gesture would shatter her determination like the delicate thing that it was.

"So many..." Lucy said softly as they passed her neighbors' bodies, sleeping now eternally in their Vault Tech Coffins. The only open cryo pod told a story that everyone in the room already knew. Nora watched Marcy give it a long hard look, her jaw flexing and her hands clenching into fists at her side.

She paused in front of Nate's cryo pod, her friends surrounding her at all angles. She wouldn't realize till much later that they'd all fanned out around her, protecting her from whatever danger that may have arisen, it took a few moments, but she reached out for the release switch opening the cryo pod.

((I will not cry,)) Nora swore to herself as she looked at Nate for the first time in months, still preserved by a thin coating of frost. She reached up, cupping his cheek, ignoring the chill on her skin.

"It's time to come home, Nate," she said, brushing her thumb across his cheek.

((I will not cry)) she told herself as she stepped back and nodded to Sturges. She watched as he and Lucy removed him from his cryo pod and reverently laid him down on a litter they'd brought with them for the task.

((I will not cry)) she told herself as Lexxi unfolded a sheet and draped it gently over the body, Sturges, and Lucy joining her to tuck it securely around her husband.

Each of her friends bent and lifted the litter. Their silent procession moved back through the Vault to the elevator, Nora following by the side with her hand on her husband's shrouded form.

Lexxi would later tell her how much she admired her for remaining focused throughout the whole ordeal, But all Nora remembered was the desperate need to keep her hand on Nate as they rode the lift back up and returned home, it was the last time she was ever going to be able to touch him, the rest of her body was on autopilot, her gaze fixed ahead.

((I will not cry,)) she told herself as she saw the rest of her friends gathered around the spot where Nate would be laid to rest. As they laid Nate down on the ground, she knelt, unwilling to remove her hand just yet, Codsworth drifting next to her. The only noise that could be heard was the gentle sound of his thrusters.

((Let go,)) she told herself as seconds ticked by.

((Let go,)) she told herself as seconds turned to minutes, and her knees began to ache.

((Let go, Nora!)) it took all of her willpower to rise from the ground and step back, of all the hardships she'd faced since waking up and learning to live in the wasteland, none of them even compared to the difficulty of letting go of her husband.

"Codsworth? Would you say a few words?" she asked, stepping backward until she was standing between Marcy and Lucy. 

((Is that my voice?)) she thought. She couldn't believe the strength in it.

Codsworth hovered next to Nate for a few silent moments before turning to face the rest of them.

"Aside from Miss Nora and myself, none of you had the privilege of knowing Mister Nate. I hope I will be able to convey to you just how much he meant to his loved ones with my limited words."

"Sir, welcomed me into his home, I was just a Mister Handy, fresh out of the box and ready for my first instructions, but right from the beginning, he and Miss Nora made sure I knew I was family. I remember the first time I learned what it meant to be a part of a "Family."

"I remember Sir helping me prepare dinner one night. I found it odd because my programming dictated that I was there to serve to make his life more comfortable. I told him this and asked if perhaps he found fault with my meal preparation protocols. That was when he informed me that he was going to be trusting me with the lives of his wife and child, and If I was going to be playing such a vital role that I needed to know I was family and not a simple servant who would only be present when he was needed."

((I will not cry,)) Nora told herself as Codsworths voice turned brittle.

"That night when I retired to rest mode, I searched every database that I could to learn about "Family," and the deeper my understanding of that word grew, the more I realized what a precious gift I'd been awarded, Mister Nate and Miss Nora insisted I stay and be a part of every meal though I couldn't eat, they asked my thoughts on different matters even though my opinion was irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, Sir would tell me jokes, saving the more off-color ones for when Miss Nora was out of the house of course, and it was with the greatest pride that I helped him assemble the crib for young Shaun."

Codsworths voice picked up strength as he continued. Nora looked around, noting with pride that everyone's attention was riveted on him.

"I was there to say goodbye when Sir was called to serve his country, I remember feeling a terrible turmoil when he left knowing the odds were high that I would never see him again, I remember many restless nights waiting by the phone with Miss Nora and the absolute relief I felt when he called to speak to her, and I was deeply touched when he also insisted on speaking to me no matter how short his time was, I remember feeling ecstatic joy when he returned from the war just in time for the Birth of young Shaun, and no words can describe my elation when young Shaun came home from the hospital, the only thing I knew for certain was that I would gladly put myself between him and anything that sought to cause him harm, I was no Mister Gutsy of course, but I was Family."

"When the bombs fell, I was so tremendously relieved that my family was safe in Vault one-eleven, over the years we were apart, I never once succumbed to despair, when I lacked for a purpose I told myself that I would protect this home and its memories with the same devotion that Mister Nate fought for his country and his family."

Codsworth turned to regard Nate, reaching out and placing one of his arms reverently on the shrouded body.

"I do not possess a heart, but I feel this sorrow, knowing that I'll never get to hear Mister Nates voice again, this vast emptiness I feel inside knowing that I will never see him again, I was not programmed to feel pain, and yet it pains me so to know that he will never be a part of my life again, Though I do not possess a heart I cannot think of any other word to express my feelings and emotions, I am heartbroken."

Codsworth turned back to face everyone.

"All of you gathered here today to pay your respects to a man you didn't know. You are my family. I will fight with the same devotion that Mister Nate fought for his country to protect Sanctuary."

Stepping forward, Nora lay her forehead against Codsworth and pressed a kiss to his shell. Looking down at her husband's body, she turned to face her friends.

"Nate tried to prepare me for hard times, I don't think he ever anticipated the Commonwealth as it is today, but his lessons helped me survive long enough to meet all of you. Nate was the light of my life, no woman could have asked for a better husband, and when I find Shawn, I promise he'll grow up knowing what a good man his father was, there's so much more I could say, but none of it could do Nate justice, I only wish you all could have met him and gotten to know him as I did."

Stepping back, Nora signaled to Preston.

((I will not cry,)) she told herself as Preston knelt and lay the tattered remains of a trifold American flag onto Nate's Shrouded form. With reverence Sturges, Preston and Alex lowered Nate into his grave and proceeded to bury him. Nora felt a terrible knot inside her begin to unravel as they smoothed out the dirt, and Mama Murphy lay a handful of flowers down on top of it. She'd made it through without crying and embarrassing herself. The relief was palpable.

"I'm ok," she told Marcy when she saw the woman looking up at her. Marcy offered her a sad smile and nodded her head.

Nora thanked everyone as they filed out of the backyard. Sturges embraced her and held her for a long moment, "Darlin, we're here for you whenever you need us, you know that, right?"

"I know Sturges. I'm ok." Nora promised him as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Lucy cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead, following behind Sturges, "Whatever you need, Nora, I'm here."

"Thank you, don't worry, I'm ok," Nora reassured her.

Lexxi didn't have words. Instead, she hugged Nora with tears in her eyes, Nora hugged her back, kissing the top of her head.

"Thank you for coming with me today Lexxi, Don't worry, I'm ok."

Preston was the last to go. She embraced the Minuteman, her friend, her rock.

"Thank you, Preston, the flag was...a beautiful touch," she told him as she pulled back to look him in the eyes.

"We always try to bury a minuteman with our flag. I thought it would be appropriate to bury Nate with his flag." Preston said softly, "You take all the time you need to put things in perspective, ok? Don't rush through your grief just to get to tomorrow."

"Don't worry, Preston, I'm ok. I'll be back to work tomorrow," Nora noticed a flicker of a frown touch his face before it returned to normal.

Codsworth was at a loss for words. It startled Nora when the Mister Handy excused himself to go power down early, though he may have been a machine he was grieving.

Turning around, Nora found Marcy not far from her side. The woman had kept a respectful distance all day, just far enough away to let Nora do what she needed to do, but close enough to touch if Nora needed her. When Marcy held out her arms to Nora with a questioning look on her face, Nora went right to her. It wasn't until she felt Marcy's arms around her that she realized just how much she needed a hug.

"You were amazing today," Marcy told her as Nora rested her cheek on her shoulder, "If you need to cry now, it's alright."

"I...I think I'm ok, Marcy," Nora smiled. She met Marcy's gaze and was confused with the sad smile the woman gave her.

"Come with me," Marcy offered Nora her arm. Nora took it and was confused when Marcy vanished into the house, returning with a backpack before they set out in the direction of Concord.

"Where are we going?" Nora asked her as they crossed the bridge.

"Someplace quiet, you'll see." was all Marcy offered her.

\--

Nora was curious when Marcy led her to the Red Rocket outside of Sanctuary. Once inside, they secured the doors, and Nora was even more surprised to see an area cleared away in the garage bay where two bedrolls were laid out and someone had laid out supplies for a meal.

"What is all this?" she asked.

"Like I said, just a little bit of peace and quiet," taking her by the hand, Marcy sat her down on one of the bedrolls and took a seat next to her, "When I lost my dad, my mom and I spent some time just talking about him, our fondest memories, it helped us come to grips with his death, I don't want to tell you how to grieve Nora, but if you'd like to talk about Nate, I'd be more than happy to listen."

The gesture deeply touched Nora. It was on the tip of her tongue to turn the offer down; however, before she could stop herself, her mouth opened, and she began to talk. 

She told Marcy how they'd met, Nate, coming to her rescue one night at a bar, a classmate had confessed he had a crush on her, he was quite drunk and not able to process what "No" meant, Nate had swooped in putting an arm around her and kissing her cheek playing the part of the "out of town boyfriend." back from Bootcamp, it hadn't taken him very long until he was filling the boyfriend role permanently.

As soon as Nora finished one story, she'd remember another one. It wasn't until Marcy lit several oil lamps that Nora realized she'd been talking all afternoon, they took a break to eat, and Marcy passed her a Nuka Cola.

"You can keep going if you'd like," Marcy said softly. There was that sad smile on Marcy's face like she knew something Nora didn't.

"I don't know if I have any stories left now..." Nora smiled, opening the bottle, "I'm ok Marcy, thank you for letting me get all of this off my chest. It's felt really good to tell someone about the kind of man N-Nate was." she raised the Nuka Cola to her lips and took a drink, eyes widening in surprise as the Cherry flavor struck her taste buds.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, looking at the bottle in surprise, "You know this does remind m-me of the time t-that the power went out one night, it w-was really h-hot, and w-we couldn't sleep, so Nate got a Nuka Cherry from t-the icebox, and w-we passed it back and forth...I lit s-some candles and...."

Nora looked down in surprise as something wet hit the back of her hand. She looked up at the ceiling, thinking there must have been a leak somewhere.

"Nora..." Marcy took her hand in hers, "Honey, it's alright, let it out."

"L-Let it...out?" Raising her other hand to her cheek, she realized it was wet, "Oh..." she whimpered softly. How long had she been crying and unaware? "Oh, Marcy...Oh God, I'm not ok, Marcy! I'm not ok!" her breath caught in her throat as she began to sob.

Once opened, the damn would not be closed. Grief poured out of her in such a torrential wave that it frightened her, the only other time she could remember feeling so out of control was the night Nate had shipped out to Alaska, and she'd cried on Nick's shoulder for fear of never seeing him, that was a drop in the bucket compared to now.

Every bit of pent-up anguish she'd been holding onto since she'd woken up in the Vault demanded release. Nora tried to speak, but it was all she could do to breathe. Marcy was talking to her, holding her, her voice a soft murmur in her ears. Without Marcy's comfort, Nora was sure she would drown in this grief. She clung to Marcy as if she was the only thing keeping her from sinking.

Nora couldn't and would never be able to recall afterward just how long she cried, only that at some point, her body and mind exhausted themselves, and she fell asleep.

-Marcy-

As Nora fell into an exhausted sleep, Marcy ran her fingers through her hair.

Marcy had known it would only be a matter of time until Nora cracked, she'd been watching her battle her emotions throughout the day, and after the funeral, she knew she needed to get Nora someplace quiet, not that anyone in Sanctuary would have resented her grieving. Still, Marcy felt that Nora would have been embarrassed with such an expression of grief in front of them all. 

She had spoken with Codsworth about leaving some supplies here and two bedrolls. They were anticipating a storm of grief. No stranger to these storms herself, Marcy had done her best coax it out of Nora as tenderly as she knew how.

The gesture, however, had left Marcy feeling insecure, listening to Nora talk about Nate with such love, and learning just how much he'd done for Nora and what he'd meant to her, it left Marcy wondering if she could really fill that kind of roll in Nora's life, she couldn't hold a candle to Nate, she'd brought Nora more stress and sleepless nights than she'd ever brought her comfort.

Night crept up on them, and Marcy gently disentangled herself from Nora to double-check the locks on all the doors. After securing the building, she slipped back into the bedroll and found Nora looking up at her, her eyes were red, and she looked exhausted, but they were shining as they looked up at Marcy.

"Thank you..." she said softly.

"For what?" Marcy asked, reaching out to run her fingers through Nora's hair again.

"For knowing exactly what I needed, even when I didn't." Nora sighed. Taking Marcy's hand, she kissed it and touched it to her cheek, "There were so many times I wanted to reach for you today...but if I had, I think I would have broken right there, I had to be strong....no I had to pretend to be strong, to keep myself from crying."

"Nora, there was nothing about what you did today that was "Pretend," Marcy sighed, "You were brave just going back down into that...place." she shivered, remembering the cold of the Cryo Chamber room, "They just left you there..." she shivered. She now understood all too well why Nora startled herself awake some nights.

Nora moved closer, putting her arms around Marcy, needing the comfort and closeness as much as Marcy did.

"You've been so patient with me, Marcy," Nora sighed, "Today was a huge step. I can't promise I've put it all behind me. There'll be times when I miss him, but I don't want that to stand between "us" ok? Mama Murphy told me the heart is a big place," Taking Marcy's hand, she put it over her heart, "If you'll be gentle with my heart, then I think there's more than enough room for you there."

They'd let one another know many times they were both working towards a relationship, yet Marcy still felt compelled to ask Nora one more time...

"You're sure?"

"No more doubts," Nora said. She watched Nora swallow hard and then lean in. A moment before their lips met, it dawned on Marcy what was about to happen.

(Oh!) she had time to think before Nora kissed her, her eyes fluttered closed, sighing softly against Nora's lips she kissed her back, there was no tension to the kiss, no kindling of any lust or sexual desire, just the loving promise between two mentally and emotionally exhausted people finally meeting in the middle where they so desperately wanted to be together, and when they finally pulled away to catch their breath, they could only gaze into one another's eyes in wonder at the briefest moment of their feelings for each other laid bare and how right it felt.

-Mama Murphy-

Mama Murphy knew she was in the grip of the sight when she woke and heard the sounds of crickets chirping through her open window. Rising from her bed, she took a deep breath. A warm summer breeze drifted through her window. It smelled of recently cooked meat on the grill, freshly mowed lawns, and maybe a hint of rain.

Moments like this were a bittersweet blessing, in all her life, Mama Murphy had never experienced the world as it had been before the bombs, not until she'd met Nora and come to Sanctuary, she clung desperately to these moments and when The Sight had shown her what she needed to see she almost always wept as she was cast out of Eden and back into The Wasteland.

"Ok...I'm awake..." she said softly to the darkness of her room, "Show me what it is you want me to see."

She drifted across the floor and out her front door, following the invisible thread between her and where she needed to go, her path carrying her to Nora's backyard. Strangely Nate's grave was still there though the world around her was still fresh and new.

She stopped in her tracks as brilliant moonlight pooled in the backyard, showing her she wasn't alone.

A tall, broad-shouldered figure in a Vault Suit knelt next to the grave. Mama Murphy could see it was a Vault-111 jumpsuit. Quiet as she'd been, the figure still turned his head hearing her approach.

"Oh..." Mama Murphy said softly as she took in the man's face and the warm, gentle smile he offered her, no doubt the smile Nora had fallen in love with.

"Nora, she's in good hands now," she told Nate, "I know you prepared her for the hard times. She rescued us from our hard times. We won't abandon her during hers," Mama Murphy looked up at the stars and smiled, "She'll find Shawn. I promise you that, I've seen it."

When she looked back over at Nate, she discovered he was gone. The absence of crickets and the stale air of the Commonwealth told her that the sight was finished with her.

Standing there trying desperately to recapture a moment of Eden as she often did after such visions, Mama Murphy felt the briefest caress of that warm summer wind. Though it may have been a trick of her mind, she heard the faintest sound of a voice.

"Thank you," Nate whispered in the breeze.


	29. Braver with every encounter.

-Nora-

Two weeks pass, and Nora finds herself busier than ever as Sanctuary rises from the ashes. With so many hands around, now they're able to scrap the ruined homes of Sanctuary to patch the roofs and walls of the useable houses, it's hard work, but at the end of two weeks, they can finally sleep comfortably, no longer at the mercy of the fickle Commonwealth weather.

A sense of family and community evolves as each day passes. It's hard for Nora to picture Sanctuary without Lexxi and Marcus in it now. Sturges and Lucy are deliriously in love with each other. When night falls, the sounds of that love echo through the neighborhood, Sturges has the good grace to blush about it the next day, Lucy, on the other hand, welcomes each day with a satisfied catlike grin without an ounce of shame in her body.

Lucy is a force of nature. She'll drink any one of them under the table, she works hard, plays hard, curses like a sailor on shore-leave, and is an absolute joy to be around, her confidence is infectious, and no one is more affected by her influence than Lexxi, Lucy makes it her mission to build the young woman up and simultaneously broaden her vocabulary.

It's clear the vocabulary lessons are paying off when the ladies gather to play poker one night, and Lexxi finds herself folding yet again, "Cock Sucker!" she grumbles loudly, reaching for her drink. She freezes halfway, realizing what she just said, and begins to blush crimson. Everyone at the table freezes before bursting into laughter.

"That's my girl!" Lucy proclaims, throwing her arm around Lexxi.

Alex visits more often now. Nora believes it's only a matter of time before he leaves his cabin's isolation and joins them for good. She watches him interact with Lexxi and Marcus. The way the three act around each other, small almost casual touches that speak of something more than friendship, the way Lexxi looks, so content walking in-between Marcus and Alex with her arms around each of them, even Marcus and Alex share lingering glances, Nora believes there's something there waiting to bloom.

Nora's relationship with Marcy progresses comfortably slow. While they're both struck by inexplicable bouts of shyness when the topic of physical intimacy comes up, it doesn't stop them from kissing. Slowly those kisses grow longer. Their hands begin to wander, Marcy's hands gravitating to the curve of Nora's backside, while Nora's fingers tease a spot just behind Marcy's earlobe because it makes Marcy shiver and sigh softly against her lips.

The barriers that have kept them apart, the anguish, the guilt, the uncertainty, have all been put behind them, it seemed silly that shyness would be the obstacle they would face now, but Nora knew they would pass through this barrier too. They grow braver with every encounter.

\--

The day had begun grey and cloudy until they'd all been driven indoors around lunchtime by a torrential downpour. Nora had dried off and settled into a chair in the bedroom. She picked up a book and began to read. She heard the bedroom door open and then shut and smiled to herself. When she heard Marcy engage the lock, she raised an eyebrow. Lowering her book, she peered over the edge at Marcy.

Marcy approached her. Reaching out, she took the book from Nora's hands and tossed it aside with a smile. Nora's stomach fluttered as the book bounced off the bed and onto the floor. This was new! She gasped as Marcy climbed into her lap and gazed down at her with a look of nervous desire, watching Nora's face intently to make sure she wasn't crossing any lines. When she leaned down and kissed Nora, she couldn't help but make a happy noise against Marcy's lips as she threaded her fingers through Marcy's hair and kissed her back.

-Marcy-

Marcy lost herself in the moment. Her nerves settled, and anything other than kissing Nora faded into the back of her mind. The only noises that reached her ears were the soft rhythm of rain on the roof and the noises Nora made against her lips.

Kissing Nora was entirely unlike any other kiss she'd received in her life.

Alice's kisses had been rough, demanding, Marcy's lips had often been left swollen by the force of them, her kisses with June had been desperate, frantic, in the grip of their passion she'd always known in the back of her mind that he was going out on the road again. Each time they'd made love could have been their last.

Nora's kisses were gentle but firm. They promised warmth and safety. Never would Nora kiss her hard enough to hurt her. Instead, she offered Marcy long, lingering kisses punctuated by soft sighs as if kissing Marcy was the most important thing in her world and demanded her full attention. The only thing Nora's kisses promised was that the next one was only seconds away if Marcy so desired it.

Pulling back, Marcy reached out with a trembling hand and gripped the zipper of Nora's vault suit. She looked into Nora's eyes silently, asking permission, Nora's eyes shined, and she covered Marcy's hand with her own, helping her tug down the zipper a fraction of an inch before moving her hand back, silent permission granted.

They both watched as Marcy pulled the zipper down. Long had Nora's Vault suit stoked the fires of Marcy's imagination. God only knew how badly she wanted to peel that Vault suit away and run her fingers over every inch of Nora.

Placing her hand on the soft skin over Nora's heart, Marcy felt the rapid beating under her palm. Nora's breath was coming a little faster now, and when Marcy's hands began to move towards her left breast, Nora made a soft needy noise that made Marcy groan.

"More...please..." Nora sighed against Marcy's ear.

Just as Marcy cupped the soft skin of Nora's breast, a soft knock startled them both back to reality.

"Miss Nora?" Codsworth called out, "Begging your pardon, but Mister Garvey is at the door if you have a moment he'd like to speak with you."

Marcy blinked, looking around the room, she squinted as sunlight from the nearby window hit her eyes, at some point, the storm had passed, and the sky was free of clouds, she looked down at Nora as she withdrew her hand, they stared blankly at one another for a moment and then began to blush, feeling like two young lovers caught in the act, Nora half giggled half groaned burying her face in Marcy's neck.

"Y-You should probably go see what he wants," Marcy groaned as she reluctantly left Nora's lap.

"I'll be right there, Codsworth!" Nora called out as she stood up. Marcy caught her attention and mimed pulling a zipper up. Nora laughed again and pulled it back up. She gave Marcy a lingering glance and unlocked the door before heading out into the hallway.

-Nora-

Leaning against the bedroom door, Nora makes an effort to calm her racing heart. Double-checking her zipper, she lets her hand linger over her breast where Marcy's hand had been, if only for a moment. Nora's feelings towards Marcy are new and foreign to her, but she knew she wanted Marcy's hand touching her there again.

When her heartbeat settled, she splashed some water on her face in the bathroom, drying it off. When she greeted Preston at the door, she was all business and not the blushing mess she'd been a few moments ago.

"Nora," Preston smiled. Sanctuary coming to life had been good for Preston. He had a firm foundation to stand on now, a safe space where he could rebuild the Minutemen and help the Commonwealth, "Carla was in about an hour ago. A small settlement sent word that they need help. They're hoping The Minutemen are still out there. We have enough hands here that I feel comfortable leaving for a few days at least. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?" 

"Of course Preston," Nora was surprised how readily her answer came. Leaving Sanctuary could mean certain death. Still, her resolve to find Shaun hadn't faded. Since she laid Nate to rest, she's found herself dreaming of Shaun more and more now. The dreams start peacefully enough. Still, they always seem to end with Phantom hands ripping him away from her arms. Nora knew she needed to take every opportunity to learn from Preston, especially if she hoped to travel without him someday.

"Wonderful!" Prestons smile is like the sun now peering out from behind the last of the gray clouds. They decided on taking the next day to prepare and leaving early the next morning. Nora felt a strange sense of anticipation to get out and explore more of the Commonwealth. At the same time, she felt reluctant to leave Marcy. Bidding Preston goodbye, Nora found Marcy standing in the kitchen. She had an expression on her face that Nora couldn't quite place.

Together they made dinner with Codsworth. Marcy was quiet, distant. When dinner prep was finished, they sat down to eat. Marcy picked at her food but didn't eat much. When the meal was finished, she quietly excused herself and left for the bedroom.

"Did I do something wrong, Codsworth?" watching Marcy leave, she tried to get a grip on her anxiety. Marcy's mood was quiet but not angry. Nora had caught Marcy's gaze enough times throughout dinner that she would have noticed anger. Marcy was wrestling with something.

"I believe Miss Marcy is feeling anxiety, much like you are at the moment," Codsworth offers as he goes about cleaning the dishes, "You should go and speak to her. If you'd like, I could prepare some calming Hub Flower tea?"

"Thank you, Codsworth, but I think I'll just go talk to her."

"I'll bid you a goodnight then, mum."

She left Codsworth in the kitchen, hesitating outside of the bedroom door, she wasn't sure what could be causing Marcy's anxiety, but there was only one way to find out.

\--

"Marcy?"

She found Marcy sitting on the edge of the bed. Shutting the door behind her, she tentatively approached.

"Honey? Are you upset with me?" she asked, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Yes...I mean no! I'm not upset with you, but i "am" upset," Marcy sighs, "I'm sorry...I'm just trying to figure out how to say it... I've been trying to figure out how to tell you...it's just....really fucking hard!" Marcy's anger flared for a moment before she looked up at Nora suddenly, "But I'm not angry with you ok?" she clarified quickly.

"Ok," Nora nodded. Reaching out, she placed a hand over Marcy's. She felt relief when Marcy took her hand and held it tightly, "Whatever you have to tell me, I'm right here. You don't have to hold back."Nora reassured her.

"It's just..." Marcy took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, "It's just when Jun...when Jun would leave, back in Canavan, I'd lay awake at night and wonder if I was ever going to see him again..."

"Oh, Marcy," Nora sighed, truly she hadn't even considered how accepting Preston's request would affect their relationship now, "I..."

"No!" Marcy cut her off, "Don't tell me you're going to be ok, because we both know it's a promise you can't keep, you can do everything in your power to come back, and the f-fucking commonwealth would still take you away!" shivering Marcy leaned into Nora, sighing as Nora draped an arm around her shoulders.

"I know you have a mission. You need to find your son. I don't want to lay awake at night wondering if I'm ever going to see you again. I can't...I won't! But I'll be damned if I'm going to stand in your way while you're trying to find Shaun!"

"You're not in my way Marcy, you never have been, and you never will be," Nora promised her, tightening her grip on Marcy, "You're "With" me now."

"That's just it, I want to be with you, out there, I want to be by your side, I want to help you, I want to be there when you find your son," Marcy turned to look up at her eyes wide, tears threatening to fall, "But I don't want to slow you down...I couldn't even handle myself with those Ghouls..."

"Then you'll just have to learn," Nora smiled, cupping Marcy's cheek, "You can learn with me. Preston can teach you what he's been teaching me. I can teach you what he's taught me already. I can teach you to shoot." Nora smiled, "We can do this together, get stronger together, face whatever the future holds together, ok?"

"You want me by your side? Even if I fuck up?" Marcy asked, reaching out to cup Nora's cheek. Her eyes searched Nora's for any sign of pity or reluctance.

"You make it sound like I've never fucked up before," Nora smiled gently, "But yes, I want you by my side, no matter what happens."

Resting her forehead against Nora's, Marcy breathed a sigh of relief. They stayed that way, content to be close to one another as the sun went down.

"You realize this means you'll have to get up and stretch with me in the morning and go for runs, right?" Nora smiled, breaking the silence, "No more watching me from the bed all warm and cozy?"

"If that's what it takes," Marcy smiled, "Though I do enjoy watching you stretch, you're quite flexible," she sighed.

"R-Really now?" Nora was grateful for the darkness so that Marcy couldn't see her blushing. She had a feeling Marcy could tell anyway.

"Mmmhmm," Marcy nuzzled her cheek, stopping she looked up at Nora suddenly, "Listen, you know, If I ever come on too strong for you, or do or say anything you don't like, all you have to do is say "Stop" right?"

"I know, Honey," Nora smiled, "Don't mistake my inexperience for lack of permission, ok? I loved you coming into the room and taking control today. You're so much braver than I am, but I promise you, I'm taking notes. One day I'll try something brave too, ok?"

"I know you will. I'll look forward to it." Marcy sighed. She stood up long enough to kick her pants and shoes off before climbing into bed, watching intently as Nora peeled off her vault suit, replacing it with a shirt she used to sleep in, "I'll never get tired of watching that." she sighed as Nora got into bed.

"I'm glad you like the show," Nora smiled as they snuggled up together, "Maybe one day I'll take it off real slow for you, to some music."

"Mmm, yes, please!" Marcy sighed. They talked for a few moments longer. Despite the flirtatious overtones, sleep came quickly for both of them. Nora had eased her mind a great deal. Marcy slept peacefully.


End file.
